Hong Kong not going to regulate all types of virtual assets – lawmaker

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has said it will not regulate all types of virtual assets, such as gaming tokens, unless they are related to securities and futures. This will allow Hong Kong to relatively freely develop Web3, a new generation of the Internet based on blockchain and decentralization.

Hong Kong legislator Wu Jiezhuang reaffirmed this position in interview MASS MEDIA. He said that Hong Kong has not stated the need to regulate all types of virtual assets other than exchanges and virtual asset management. He also noted that Hong Kong follows international standards in the field of combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Hong Kong is currently introducing a new licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), which came into effect on March 1st. This regime applies to those VASPs that offer services for the exchange, storage or transfer of virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies. However, this regime will not apply to those types of virtual assets that are not securities or futures.

Wu Jiezhuang said that Hong Kong wants to support innovation and development of Web3, but at the same time ensure investor protection and financial stability. He also expressed his hope that Hong Kong could become one of the leaders in the Web3 field in Asia and the world.

On June 1, a new cryptocurrency regulation policy came into force in Hong Kong, which is based on the recommendations of the SFC. According to these recommendations, the SFC will determine the list of crypto assets that will be available for trading to local retail investors, provided that they are serviced by licensed operators. In addition, the SFC will issue licenses for crypto exchanges and crypto funds, as well as monitor compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations.

▼
The most interesting and important news on our channel in Telegram