Hong Kong trade union is pushing for self-regulation within the city’s crypto industry
The Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) is pushing for HK to create its own self-regulatory organization.
The Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) trade union released a letter recommending the creation of a self-regulating organization for the city’s crypto industry. The proposed organization will focus on the following methods:
- Accelerate business focus
- Provide a relatively neutral self-regulatory institution
Recently, Hong Kong approved the offerings of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to select financial institutions. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was also the first in the Asian market to allow virtual asset spot ETF listings.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas believes it will only draw a half billion worth in US dollars due to higher fees and a smaller market cap.
In March 2024, HSBC introduced gold tokenized products for HK retail investors.
The HK Bitcoin ETF issuers also debunked claims that Chinese funds could buy into these securities, saying they weren’t allowed. This disproved a Matrixport report saying a potential $25bn inflows could come from these investors.
Although opening its doors to further crypto adoption, people in the industry have pointed out its strict KYC rules for transactions worth at least $1,000, asking for USDT and USDC to be exempted.
Hong Kong has been ramping up its crypto adoption efforts, with Bitrace even training the HK police in crypto tracking to investigate on-chain crimes among others.
They have also pledged to responsibly develop Web3, focusing on supporting licensed virtual asset platforms and developers, and enabling select virtual asset trading.
The ZA Bank of Hong Kong also promised to offer specialized banking services to stablecoin issuers. Hong Kong has launched a crypto sandbox and digital yuan initiatives in a web3 push, per the city’s 2024–2025 budget.
The city has gained praise from experts in the US like Cathie Wood who commended their crypto regulations and advised the US to adopt similar policies.
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