Hong Kong grants license to Bullish, bringing total licensed crypto exchanges to 10

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has granted Bullish, a crypto trading platform, a license to operate within its territory. This brings the total number of licensed crypto exchange platforms in Hong Kong to 10.

Bullish senior vice president Michael Lau, who also serves as head of global sales, stressed that Hong Kong is an integral business hub. Lau further stated that Bullish has more than 100 staff in Hong Kong. After getting the license, Bullish’s strategy in Hong Kong will focus on institutional business.

Bullish gets approval as Consensus goes to Hong Kong for the first time

Bullish recently acquired CoinsDesk, an extensive media, events, and index platform that organizes the crypto industry’s major forum, Consensus. For the first time, the Consensus event is taking place on a full scale outside the US. 

The event has already kicked off and will continue at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre until February 20th. Today, February 19th is the highlight of the event, which is expected to draw approximately 8,000 people.

Michael Lau, chairman of Consensus Hong Kong, stressed that the decision to hold Consensus was strategic. In a joint interview with Leung at the offices of InvestHK on February 13, Lau said:

“Choosing Hong Kong was a pretty strategic decision because we know that one of the big themes within the whole space is … this technology has enabled [that] traditional finance.”

Michael Lau

Hong Kong has been keen to highlight its continued support for the virtual asset sector as it showcases its ability and capacity to host major industry events.

Currently, stablecoins, which are typically pegged to traditional currencies like the US dollar, are a major topic in the crypto world. Many in the crypto community believe stablecoins have more applications within traditional finance than other cryptocurrencies. Hong Kong is developing stablecoin regulations that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will oversee.

More platforms are in the queue of the SFC for approvals to operate in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s commitment to enabling a digital asset economy is evident in its regulatory framework, which includes licensing approved firms that have completed the necessary legal procedures.

Currently, eight platforms for virtual asset trading are waiting for approval from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). 

According to Mr. Yip Chi Hang, the executive director of the SFC’s intermediaries division, the market is becoming explicit about the regulatory body’s licensing standards. 

He said that licenses will be issued again. However, only applicants who meet the required standards will obtain the licenses.

The Consensus event is taking place two months after CoinDesk’s newsroom was marred by controversy over the firing of editors over a story about Tron founder Justin Sun. The article satirically explained Sun’s public eating of a banana that was part of the conceptual artwork Comedian , which the crypto entrepreneur bought for $6.2 million.

Hong Kong is shaping its ambitions to become a crypto hub

Hong Kong first outlined a plan to become a virtual asset hub in 2022, following Beijing’s sweeping ban on all crypto transactions in mainland China the previous year. Since then, it has launched the first spot crypto exchange-traded funds in Asia and other initiatives.

Hong Kong’s Cyberport Web3 network, a state-run business hub promoting digital asset innovation, now features over 270 blockchain firms, having added more than 120 in the past 17 months.

The Special Administrative Region of China has also proposed initiatives like exempting crypto gains from taxes for hedge funds, private equity, and family investment vehicles, among other regulations. 

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