- As opposed to US regulatory issues, Asian nations are regulating digital assets and cryptocurrencies.
- Hong Kong licensed trading platforms under a new digital-asset framework.
- Asia may be drawn to cryptocurrencies because many people there do not have access to certain banking services.
Hong Kong licensed trading platforms under a new digital-asset framework, Bloomberg reported. HashKey and OSL, both crypto exchange platforms, received licenses from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for retail services.
HashKey and OSL were previously the only local exchanges licensed by the SFC to provide trading services to professional investors. However, they recently announced that their licenses have been upgraded to include the provision of services to retail investors as well.
Hong Kong’s new regulatory framework stated that individuals and institutions can trade cryptocurrencies. However, due to the price volatility, retail investors are limited to trading only larger coins like Bitcoin and Ether. The new regulatory framework addressed the importance of adequate risk management, insurance coverage, and asset custody.
According to Forbes, decentralized cryptocurrencies are being embraced by some nations due to their promise of financial democratization. This promise held particular appeal where a sizable portion of the population lacked access to banking services. While 80% of Chinese and Indians have bank accounts, 70% of Vietnamese, 66% of Indonesians, and 44% of Filipinos are unbanked.
In contrast, American crypto exchanges and platforms were having difficulties as the number of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cases rose. The SEC filed charges against many crypto exchanges, such as Ripple, Gemini, Coinbase, and most recently, Binance. However, reportedly, the SEC couldn’t produce any evidence regarding Binance’s misuse of customer funds.
Jeff Roberts, a crypto editor at Fortune magazine, accused the SEC’s Gary Gensler of diverting attention from important crypto-related legislative proposals. On the contrary, Thomas Gorman, Partner at the American law firm Dorsey & Whitney, defended the SEC’s scrutiny of the crypto industry. He said people in crypto were “purposely” trying to change the current rules so that the resulting guidelines would give out less information, which leads to less investor protection.
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