Crypto exchanges in Hong Kong that have not obtained an operational license from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) must halt their activities in the region immediately
The authorities in Hong Kong have made explicit requests to crypto exchanges in an effort to lessen the risks that investors are exposed to.
A request was issued, which said that the exchanges were required to either apply for a license by the twenty-ninth of February or halt their operations within the next three months.
Approximately twenty-two Bitcoin exchanges submitted license applications to continue operating within the region during this period.
This was done to ensure that they could continue to operate.
The other side of the coin is that a sizeable number of these exchanges ultimately concluded that they would withdraw their applications in the final moments before the deadline.
Six cryptocurrency exchanges made withdrawals from the Hong Kong market in May alone.
These withdrawals were made. Players worldwide, such as OKX and Huobi HK, were included in these exchanges. Nevertheless, in contrast to most exchanges, Hong Kong-based Gate did not offer any explanations for the unexpected turn of events.
The Hong Kong Securities Commission (HK) stated that to meet Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements, it would be essential to perform a “major overhaul” of its trading platform in the wake of the withdrawn license, Gate.HK temporarily halted all of its marketing and customer acquisition initiatives.
Those users who have already enrolled have till the twenty-eighth of Augustthe twenty-eighth of August to get their funds withdrawn from their accounts.
They were beginning on the twenty-eighth of May, the Gate.HK trading website will no longer be an operational platform. In addition, all of the tokens that were not traded in the past, such as Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and Polygon, will be permanently removed from the market. These are the words.
“Gate.HK is actively working on the aforementioned overhaul. We plan to resume our business in Hong Kong in the future and contribute to the virtual asset ecosystem after obtaining the relevant licenses.”
A total of 18 cryptocurrency exchanges have submitted applications to receive a license to operate in Hong Kong as of the thirty-first of May.
As stated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SFC), the list of swaps that have been approved will be made available to the public by the first of Junethe first of June.
As of when this article was written, the two cryptocurrency exchanges that have been authorized to operate in Hong Kong are HashKey and OSL Exchange.
It is vital to note that cryptocurrency exchanges may not be granted a license and, as a result of the decision made by the SFC, may be required to discontinue their operations in Hong Kong as a consequence of the decision.
This is something that should be taken into consideration. It is recommended by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) that investors verify the official list of exchanges that are permitted to mitigate the dangers that are associated with the trading of cryptocurrencies.