ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong virtual asset exchange EX.IO (Thousand Whales Technology (BVI) Limited) has obtained approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to operate a virtual asset trading platform under Type 1 (Securities Trading), Type 7 (Providing Automated Trading Services) licenses, and in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO).

ChainCatcher news, according to the official announcement, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has announced the issuance of licenses to four virtual asset trading platforms under the fast-track licensing procedure, including Cloud Account Greater Bay Area Technology (Hong Kong), DFX Labs, Hong Kong Digital Asset Trading Group, and Thousand Whales Technology.These platforms must complete rectifications and pass independent third-party vulnerability assessments and penetration tests before they can operate within a restricted scope. The Securities and Futures Commission will supervise the second phase of the assessment through a tripartite agreement, and business restrictions will be lifted upon completion of the assessment. The Commission plans to release more licensing procedure guidelines in early 2025 to promote the development of Hong Kong's virtual asset ecosystem.

ChainCatcher news, according to East Net reports, Hong Kong's Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chan Ho Lam, met with about 10 representatives from the Web 3 and artificial intelligence (AI) industries on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in Web 3 and AI, sharing insights on the opportunities and challenges brought to the financial services industry.Chan Ho Lam pointed out that Hong Kong currently has nearly 300 Web3-related companies, and there are 3 virtual asset trading platforms licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, estimating that several more virtual asset trading platforms will obtain licenses within this year.He mentioned that to promote the development of the virtual asset industry, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau will submit a bill to the Legislative Council this year to regulate fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, addressing risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing, protecting investors, and promoting healthy and orderly market development. Additionally, there will be a second round of public consultation next year regarding the regulation of over-the-counter trading of virtual assets and a proposed licensing system for virtual asset custodial service providers.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Hong Kong Radio website, the CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ashley Alder, reiterated in an interview that there will be announcements regarding the licensing of virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong by the end of the year. However, there was no response on whether there are platforms that have been "considered for licensing" but do not meet the standards after review. The report will disclose common issues found when platforms apply for licenses.

ChainCatcher news, Dr. Ye Zhi Heng, Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, stated that virtual assets have now become a top agenda for every financial regulatory authority.Hong Kong currently has three licensed virtual asset trading platforms, and is processing applications from an additional 15 platforms. Investors can expect more licensed platforms to comply with the SFC's robust investor protection measures.

ChainCatcher news, the official website of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has updated the information on virtual asset trading platform license applications, which shows that Nebulas Exchange submitted its application for a virtual asset trading platform license to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on October 25, 2024. The name of the submitting virtual asset trading platform operator company is "Nebulas Hong Kong Limited", and there is currently no Chinese name.As of now, the number of virtual asset trading platform license applicants announced by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission is 15. According to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, 11 platforms including HKbitEX, PantherTrade, Accumulus, DFX Labs, Bixin.com, xWhale, YAX, Bullish, Crypto.com, WhaleFin, and Matrixport HK are considered to be granted licenses.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Hong Kong media Wen Wei Po, the Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ye Zhi Heng, stated that the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) has currently issued 3 licenses and is processing another 14 applications. The SFC is taking a relatively expedited approach to approve 11 applications that are "considered for licensing," with the expectation of issuing several more licenses by the end of the year.In addition, the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau expects to regulate stablecoin products by the end of the year, while regulatory measures for issuers are planned for next year. The Monetary Authority will issue the third batch of tokenized green bonds, but there is currently no definite timetable.

ChainCatcher news, the current regulatory measures of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission include risk-based on-site inspections and direct dialogues with the senior management and controllers of applicants. Based on this, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission is implementing a rapid licensing approval process to handle applications from virtual asset trading platforms considered for licensing. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission expects to issue the first batch of formal licenses to virtual asset trading platform applicants considered for licensing by the end of this year.

ChainCatcher news, to support the development of a sustainable business model for licensed virtual asset trading platforms, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is establishing a formal advisory group composed of representatives from each licensed institution to ensure that the SFC considers their views in the policy-making process.The SFC expects the advisory group to be launched in early 2025. Future white papers released by the SFC on priority regulatory matters in the virtual asset industry will be based on discussions conducted by this group and feedback from other stakeholders.

ChainCatcher message, to support licensed virtual asset trading platforms in developing sustainable business models, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is establishing a formal advisory group for all licensed virtual asset trading platforms, composed of representatives from each licensed institution, to ensure that the SFC considers their views in the policy-making process.The SFC expects this advisory group to be launched in early 2025. The SFC will publish a white paper on priority regulatory matters for the virtual asset industry in the future, based on discussions from this group and feedback from other stakeholders.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media Xin Bao, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, stated that since the publication of the digital asset policy declaration two years ago, there have been several developments in the short term, including the introduction of regulatory requirements for virtual asset trading platforms. So far, three operators have been licensed, and several more licenses are expected to be issued by the end of this year. The Hong Kong government plans to promote legislation on this matter.Paul Chan also mentioned that an important theme in the financial sector for the next two years is: blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). While the government embraces new technologies, it also pays attention to the potential risks they bring, making balance and regulation very important. Since the beginning of this year, the largest fintech investments in Asia include three in mainland China and two in Hong Kong, indicating the attractiveness of the Hong Kong fintech market.

ChainCatcher news, according to the latest updates from the official website of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the application for a virtual asset trading platform license submitted by bitcoinworld has been rejected on October 10.Relevant information shows that the company name of the virtual asset trading platform operator submitted by bitcoinworld is "Bitcoin World Technology Limited," with no applicable Chinese name. Bitcoinworld first submitted the application for a virtual asset trading platform license to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on May 17, 2024.As of now, the total number of applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses that have been withdrawn or rejected, as announced by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, is 14, of which 2 have been rejected; the number of applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses is 14, of which 11 have been considered for licensing, and the list of licensed virtual asset trading platforms includes 3.

ChainCatcher news, according to the latest updates from the official website of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the virtual asset trading platform license application submitted by HKDAX has been withdrawn on October 9.Relevant information shows that the company name of the virtual asset trading platform operator submitted by HKDAX is "Hong Kong Digital Asset Xchange Limited," and the Chinese name is not applicable. HKDAX first submitted the virtual asset trading platform license application to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on August 27, 2024.As of now, the total number of applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses that have been withdrawn or returned, as announced by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, is 13, of which 1 has been returned; the number of applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses is 15, of which 11 are considered as applicants for the issued licenses, and the list of licensed virtual asset trading platforms is 3.

ChainCatcher news, the CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ashley Alder, stated that the first phase of on-site inspections for virtual asset trading platforms (VATP) has been completed. The deficiencies identified during the on-site inspections have been communicated to the applicant platforms, requiring improvements.Alder added that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will announce the next phase plan in due course. Platforms that meet the standards will be granted conditional licenses. Applicant platforms that have been pointed out by the Commission for deficiencies must submit improvement plans to the Commission. Similar to the previous VATP transition period, the next phase plan will also include a deadline. Those who fail to meet the requirements within the deadline will lose their "considered for licensing" status and will orderly cease their operations in Hong Kong.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong 01 report, the CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Ashley Alder, stated in an interview that the development of a regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms is being advanced, supporting the tokenization of traditional products, and utilizing blockchain and Web3 foundational technologies, with the entire framework expected to be completed at least by next year.Regarding virtual asset trading platforms (VATP), Alder mentioned that the SFC has issued the third license to the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange (HKVAX), with the other two licensed platforms being OSL Exchange and HashKey Exchange. Additionally, there are 11 platforms that are considered applicants for licensing; Alder indicated that the first phase of on-site inspections has been conducted, and requirements have been proposed for these applicants to rectify issues, with the goal of making new progress by the end of the year, including the issuance of licenses in batches.In terms of over-the-counter (OTC) services, Alder stated that the SFC has developed a new licensing regime for cryptocurrency OTC services and their custody services, and is seeking industry opinions.

ChainCatcher message, the official website of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has updated the information on virtual asset trading platform license applications, which shows that HKDAX submitted its application for a virtual asset trading platform license to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on August 27, 2024. The name of the submitted virtual asset trading platform operator company is "Hong Kong Digital Asset Xchange Limited", and there is currently no Chinese name.As of now, the number of applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses announced by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission is 17. According to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, 11 platforms including HKbitEX, PantherTrade, Accumulus, DFX Labs, Bixin.com, xWhale, YAX, Bullish, Crypto.com, WhaleFin, and Matrixport HK are considered for licensing.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a press release warning the public to be cautious of an entity operating under the name "Proxinex" that is suspected of engaging in virtual asset-related fraud.Investors have reported difficulties in withdrawing virtual assets from Proxinex, and were subsequently informed that their "accounts do not exist." The SFC also suspects that Proxinex has employed agents who lure investors into depositing funds with Proxinex through social networking applications. These agents may have forged documents claiming to be issued by a certain financial regulatory body and a certain financial institution in Hong Kong to embellish their personal credentials. The SFC has included Proxinex and its related websites on the list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms as of July 29, 2024. Although the related websites are currently inaccessible, the public should be wary of scammers potentially continuing to establish similarly named websites.

ChainCatcher message, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a warning to the public to be cautious of an unlicensed virtual asset trading platform named "CoinUnited.io". On July 25, 2024, the SFC included CoinUnited.io and its related websites on the list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms.CoinUnited.io claims to offer trading services for cryptocurrencies, stocks, indices, foreign exchange, and commodities, and has previously claimed to have a flagship store in Hong Kong and to be recruiting in Hong Kong, but it has never been licensed by the SFC nor has it ever applied for any licenses from the SFC.