Since mid-2024, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has granted licenses to seven cryptocurrency trading platforms, including two new ones.
Two cryptocurrency trading platforms received the first set of operating licenses for 2025 from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. Since launching a licensing campaign in the middle of 2024, the regulator has granted seven cryptocurrency licenses.
The SFC granted operational licenses to PantherTrade and YAX, two cryptocurrency exchanges based in the country, on January 27. Both organizations were registered under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), according to public data kept by the government.
Crypto entity registration delays
Since 2020, ten cryptocurrency exchanges have formally registered in Hong Kong under AMLO, permitting them to run trading platforms for virtual assets. SFC CEO Julia Leung stated in October 2024 that the organization aimed to grant licenses to eleven cryptocurrency service companies by the end of the year.
At that point, the regulator had finished the initial round of “on-site” reviews for the cryptocurrency companies. The inspections’ main topics are the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, cybersecurity, and client asset protection.
Hong Kong’s stringent licensing regulations
Hong Kong granted four virtual asset trading platforms—HKbitEX, Accumulus, DFX Labs, and EX.IO—licenses in December 2024. According to Eric Yip, executive director of intermediates at SFC:
“We have been proactively engaging with VATPs’ senior management and ultimate controllers, which helps drive home our expected regulatory standards and expedite our licensing process for VATPs.”
“To strike a balance between protecting investors’ interests and facilitating ongoing development for the virtual asset ecosystem,” Yip continued the agency’s goal.
In Hong Kong, only four cryptocurrencies can be bought and sold legally—Avalanche AVAX $33.16, Chainlink LINK $23.14, Ether $3,129, and Bitcoin $102,414.
