ChainCatcher news, the latest "List of Virtual Currency Platform Operators that Have Completed Compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Regulations" published on the website of the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan, has appointed Lin Zhi-Chen, the general manager of the major telecommunications company Taiwan Mobile, as the person in charge. "Fu Sheng Digital Co., Ltd.", represented by Taiwan Mobile as the legal entity, has become the 26th VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) in Taiwan and has naturally become a member of the VASP association.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report from the Hong Kong Economic Journal, OSL Group's Chief Financial Officer Hu Zhenbang revealed in a recent interview that Hong Kong may introduce a licensing system for cryptocurrency "exchange shops" in the short term.In addition, Hu Zhenbang stated that once the licensing system comes into effect, the account opening process, including identity verification, will be strictly regulated. Moreover, in recent years, the SAR government's attitude towards the development of virtual assets has been very positive, with new policies being introduced almost every quarter to promote market development. The characteristics of Hong Kong's virtual asset licenses also expand the advantages of the entire market.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, UK-based large crypto trading firm B2C2 has obtained registration from the Luxembourg financial regulatory authority through an acquisition. According to the registration website of the Luxembourg Financial Industry Supervisory Commission, B2C2 has become the 12th officially licensed cryptocurrency company in the country.After registration, B2C2 will be able to offer over-the-counter spot cryptocurrency trading to institutional clients and collaborate with local cryptocurrency service providers and traditional financial institutions. As part of its expansion in Europe, B2C2 recently acquired the French cryptocurrency liquidity provider Woorton. The company stated that the Luxembourg branch will be led by Denzel Walters, the business manager of B2C2's London office.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, OKX Middle East Fintech FZE has announced that it has obtained a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and will commence full operations in the coming weeks. The Dubai Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license will support fiat trading and allow the company to offer spot services and spot currency pairs to institutional and qualified retail clients through its exchange and application.Rifad Mahasneh, General Manager of OKX Middle East, stated that OKX Middle East Fintech FZE will provide local currency trading pairs such as AED/BTC and AED/ETH in the coming weeks.

ChainCatcher news, according to Caixin reports, Hong Kong's licensing system for virtual asset trading platform operators is essentially a "dual-license" system. In addition to the licensing system for "security tokens," which applies to the Securities and Futures Ordinance, there is another licensing system for "non-security tokens," which will officially take effect under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance starting June 1, 2023.Currently, several virtual asset trading platforms, including OSL Exchange and HashKey Exchange, are applying for the second type of license, but no licenses have been granted yet.The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission previously stated that the terms and characteristics of virtual assets may evolve over time, and the defining criteria for "security tokens" and "non-security tokens" may also change. Therefore, to ensure compliance, virtual asset platforms should hold dual licenses.

According to ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong media Dongwang reported that the license application submitted by the cryptocurrency platform HashKey Exchange Business to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission "received positive feedback," and it is expected to be approved in the coming weeks, with plans to launch a virtual asset trading platform application in the short term. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, Greenland Holdings' subsidiary plans to apply for a virtual asset license in Hong Kong. Geng Jing, Chairman of Greenland Financial Investment Holding Group, revealed during a visit to Hong Kong last week that Greenland Financial Technology will establish a new company focused on virtual asset trading. The new company will concentrate on trading cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and products related to carbon emissions.It is reported that 46.4% of Greenland Holdings' shares are held by the Shanghai municipal government. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to PR Newswire, OKX exchange announced the establishment of a Hong Kong entity to launch virtual asset services in Hong Kong. In addition, OKX is applying for the Hong Kong VASP license under the new regulatory regime and Class 1 and Class 7 licenses under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, a document from the Cayman Islands court shows that the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) rejected the virtual asset service license application of the crypto lending platform Nexo on December 20, 2022, stating that the company's business model was not compliant and posed risks to market confidence, consumer protection, and the reputation of the islands as a financial center. Currently, Nexo hopes the court will order CIMA to revoke its previous decision and successfully obtain the virtual asset license.Nexo's lawyers stated that CIMA's decision was procedurally unfair, as the regulatory authority did not inform Nexo of the detailed reasons for the rejection, which also violated its constitutional and statutory duties, while Nexo had already provided corresponding explanations to the regulatory authority regarding the concerns raised during the application process. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, during the Twitter Space discussion on the new virtual asset policies organized by SQUARE DAO, Dr. Xiao Feng from HashKey Group revealed that the application for virtual asset licenses No. 1, 4, 7, and 9 will take about 2 years and cost around 20 million USD. He also pointed out that after the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Ordinance is passed in March next year, there is hope for related simplifications regarding virtual asset licenses.