Hong Kong offers escape route for crypto exchanges
Cryptocurrency exchanges, which have recently come under intense scrutiny globally, could gain broad support in Hong Kong, a member of the Chinese territory’s Legislative Council wrote on Saturday in a Twitter post.
Johnny Ng invited Coinbase and other crypto exchanges to establish operations in Hong Kong, and even hinted at potential stock listing opportunities.
“I hereby offer an invitation to welcome all global virtual asset trading operators including Coinbase to come to HK for application of official trading platforms and further development plans,” the legislator wrote. “Please feel free to approach me and I am happy to provide any assistance.”
The proposal came days after lawsuits were filed against two major cryptocurrency exchanges – Binance and Coinbase – by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The crackdown is the latest in a wave of drastic steps by the SEC, which has levied fines and other penalties against crypto-lending firms, following the collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges, in November last year.
Nigeria is the latest among several nations to ban Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, saying its operations in the country were illegal.
Earlier this month, Binance announced plans to stop working in Canada, saying that a new set of regulations governing the crypto industry complicates its operations in the country.
In contrast to the cautious stance toward digital currencies around the world, Hong Kong has taken a more enthusiastic approach. Earlier this year, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced ambitions plans to turn the region into a crypto hub despite the industry crisis, saying it was open to collaboration with crypto and fintech startups in 2023.
The region’s authorities have since come up with new regulations and compliance measures to encourage a major expansion of the cryptocurrency industry.
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