Reading 2 minutes Views 4 Published Updated
According to local news outlet Foresight News on June 27, Web3 companies in Hong Kong are spending HK$20 million to $200 million ($2.55 million to $25.5 million) to acquire Virtual Asset Licensing Regime (VASP) licenses. Sources explained:
“Because traditional financial institutions did not previously have the appropriate upstream infrastructure and have gone from 0 to 1 in various aspects such as products and teams, cost [связанная с VASP] was very high. However, even for an experienced cryptocurrency institution, the cost of obtaining a license is not cheap.”
Foresight analysts noted that the Hong Kong subsidiaries of such exchanges as OKX, BitgetX, HashKey Pro, OSL and Gate.io have already started work. As of June 27, the number of registered OKX users in Hong Kong has risen to 8,800, and the cumulative trading volume in China’s Special Administrative Region (SAR) has reached $150 million.
On June 1, Hong Kong unveiled new VASP licensing requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges. Among other things, firms must properly disclose user statistics and company financials to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for regulatory approval. Exchanges that do not comply will have to stop operating in South Africa by the middle of next year.
HK moving forward. pic.twitter.com/BY4Bg6qHOu
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 27, 2023
On the same day, the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Consortium (HKVAC) published its virtual asset index, which consists of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as altcoins and privacy tokens. The new organization aims to provide rating services and indexes to facilitate the retailing of cryptocurrencies in South Africa. It is supported by Huobi, Kucoin, Bitget and others.