Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange JPEX is shutting trading on its platform amid a probe by the Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission that said the firm was operating as an unlicensed entity, according to media reports.
See related article: Hong Kong Web3 industry forms new associations to push crypto hub ambition
Fast facts
JPEX attributed blame to its “third-party market makers” for freezing funds and restricting liquidity, after news of investigations by Hong Kong authorities.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong police received at least 83 complaints about the exchange, according to a South China Morning Post report Monday.
Hong Kong police arrested influencer Joseph Lam Chok Monday in connection with cryptocurrency trading platform JPEX, according to media reports.
Hong Kong has been welcoming investments from digital assets companies and has set out new rules for the industry as the city aims to become a global hub for digital assets.
It allows licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms to offer services to retail investors while implementing measures to protect individual traders.
See related article: Hong Kong? Singapore? Tokyo? Seoul? Dubai? The race is on for the Web3 hub of Asia | Part 1