By Frank Ready
Virtual currencies in Hong Kong used to be a little like the Wild West, only with freely operating private equity funds instead of cowboys. Now, groups that invest more than 10 percent of their assets in virtual currencies will have to be licensed by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
Last week, Hong Kong rolled out its first regulations aimed at governing its burgeoning cryptocurrency market. The new rules don’t represent a radical shift in the way laws have traditionally viewed cryptocurrency or the underlying blockchain technology but instead seem like an attempt to fold investment firms and the platforms they utilize into the existing order.
“Instead of creating a new regulatory framework or trying to categorize virtual assets, the SFC has taken the approach of extending regulation to firms that are already within its regulatory remit, particularly on the asset management side,” Etelka Bogardi, a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright, said.
According to Bogardi, the SFC has frequently expressed concern around investor protection risks, the possibilities of which only become more pronounced as a number of crypto exchanges have begun to set up shop in Hong Kong.
No comments:
Post a Comment