Hong Kong's requirement for licensing institutions to sign a commitment letter stating there are no mainland users has led to a large number of exchanges withdrawing their applications

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong has released 11 deemed-to-be-licensed applicants. Previously, Binance, OKX, HTX, Bybit, Gate, and others withdrew their applications.

According to exclusive information from Wu, the reason is that the Hong Kong SFC requires all virtual asset trading platform license applicants to sign a commitment letter, promising not to have users from mainland China in any region. This requirement has made it impossible for traditional offshore exchanges to comply. OKX attempted to form an industry alliance to oppose this requirement but ultimately to no avail.

However, industry insiders indicate that the entities that withdrew can reapply in the future after updating their legal entities or frameworks, but they should not be able to use brands similar to those of offshore exchanges for their applications.

Currently, HKbitEX, PantherTrade, Accumulus, DFX Labs, Bixincom, xWhale, YAX, Bullish, Cryptocom, WhaleFin, and Matrixport HK have become the 11 licensed applicants.

Hong Kong's move has also drawn criticism. Hong Kong Legislative Council member Chiu Tat-gan stated in a newspaper article today that OKX's exit has sparked discussions in the industry, questioning whether Hong Kong truly has the determination to develop and embrace Web3. Most of the current applicants are relatively small in scale, and Hong Kong cannot retreat to a safe line from the very beginning, fantasizing about implementing a so-called innovation with zero risk.