- The cost of obtaining a Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange licence has significantly decreased from $25 million to several million dollars in just one year.
- Since its introduction, HashKey Exchange has facilitated $440 billion in trades and is now managing $500 million in customer assets.
- Eleven cryptocurrency exchanges, or over a third of all applicants, withdrew their applications for licences between March and the end of May.
OUR TAKE
Hong Kong’s shift towards becoming a crypto hub seeks to balance investor protection with market growth, aiming to rival Dubai and Singapore. This move positions Hong Kong as a key player near mainland China, despite China’s crypto trading ban.
–Sylvia Shen, BTW reporter
The cost of obtaining a Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange licence has significantly decreased from $25 million to several million dollars in only one year.
Hashkey COO: Crypto licence costs vary
Livio Wang, chief operating officer of digital financial services HashKey Group, stated that while the licences no longer cost tens of millions of USD, they still amount to several million USD.
Wang clarified that expenses vary between the stages of preparation and operation. For companies like HashKey, the overall investment in the exchange industry has surpassed tens of millions of dollars. In contrast, platforms still in the licencing stage are expected to incur lower costs.
Since its introduction, HashKey Exchange has facilitated $440 billion in trades and is now managing $500 million in customer assets. Wang also revealed, “Our number of activated customers this week exceeded last week by 267%, and the number of newly activated customers more than tripled.”
Also read: Why Hong Kong isn’t (yet) a top global crypto hub
Also read: 5 countries and regions leading the adoption of bitcoin
Strict regulations
Eleven cryptocurrency exchanges, or over a third of all applicants, withdrew their applications for licences between March and the end of May. Only two companies, HashKey and OSL, are completely licenced at this time, with the remaining 11 having been “deemed to be licenced”.
Hong Kong Lawmaker David Chiu explained that many crypto exchanges withdrew their applications because of a controversial regulation. This rule requires potential licencees to prevent users from mainland China from accessing their services.
Furthermore, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) implemented by Hong Kong’s financial authorities has introduced new regulations for virtual asset supervision.
As a result, organisations without a “Virtual Asset Trading Platforms” licence are no longer permitted to conduct business in the city.
