Crypto-friendly Hong Kong is still gung-ho about giving its citizens access to crypto trading despite other jurisdictions “taking a step back,” claims the chair of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK).
Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Hong Kong WOW Summit in March, FTAHK chair Neil Tan said while Singapore and the United States are seemingly stepping back from permitting crypto retail trading, “Hong Kong is stepping forward.”
On June 1, a licensing regime for crypto exchanges will come into effect and Tan said it’s “going to also include retail.” The licensing guidelines are expected to be released sometime in May.
“If there’s access to [crypto] in a legal and regulated way, then I’m sure participants will come. It is a ‘build it and they will come’ because there are no other options. The options are dwindling, actually.”
In February, the region’s securities regulator proposed allowing retail traders access licensed crypto platforms in its licensing regime proposals for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).
It noted that denying access could push…