The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong issued a press release on Monday (5th), reminding investors to only buy and sell virtual assets on virtual asset trading platforms licensed by the SFC, and to verify whether the trading platform is listed on the “Licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms List” and the “Virtual Asset Trading Platform Applicants List”.
According to the transitional arrangements for the regulation of virtual asset trading platforms, platforms operating in Hong Kong that have not submitted a license application by February 29 this year must cease their operations in Hong Kong by May 31. Investors must check the regulatory status of the trading platform on March 1. If the platform is not on the above-mentioned lists, investors should make early preparations before May 31, such as closing their accounts on these platforms or transferring to licensed platforms for trading.
The SFC also warned that trading on unlicensed platforms may leave investors unprotected. Furthermore, trading on these platforms carries risks due to uncertainty about whether applicants on the “Virtual Asset Trading Platform Applicants List” will be approved.
The list of license applicants from the SFC shows that as of the time of this article’s publication, a total of 14 companies are applying for virtual asset trading platform licenses, including the Hong Kong company under OKX and Bybit (company name Spark Fintech Limited). The virtual asset trading platforms that have been officially licensed by the SFC are HashKey Exchange and OSL Exchange.