During an event at the Hong Kong WOW Summit in March, Tan said that while Singapore and the United States appear to be stepping away from allowing cryptocurrency retail trading, "Hong Kong is stepping forward."
According to Neil Tan, the Chair of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK), a licensing regime for crypto exchanges will come into effect on June 1, including retail trading. The licensing guidelines are expected to be released in May. Tan believes that if there is access to cryptocurrency in a legal and regulated way, then participants will come, as there are no other options, and the options are dwindling.
In February, the region's securities regulator proposed allowing retail traders access to licensed crypto platforms in its licensing regime proposals for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The securities regulator proposed that denying access to licensed crypto platforms for retail traders could result in pushing them towards unregulated overseas platforms, which currently are only accessible to accredited professional investors.
Hong Kong is providing what many consider to be an attractive legal framework for cryptocurrency, and it is also focusing its efforts on attracting talent and infrastructure providers. Tan calls this "the back end." He added that both the Chinese and Hong Kong governments recognize the opportunities in the region and are taking action to try to support inbound talent.
According to Tan, Hong Kong must have the necessary infrastructure to support cryptocurrency to achieve its virtual asset hub ambitions. He stated that as cryptocurrencies become more prominent, opening up the financial industry to digital assets is a natural progression. People are adopting cryptocurrency inside their portfolios, and whether talking about the retail side, high net worth or institutional investors, everyone is trying to get that type of exposure.
Hong Kong's commitment to cryptocurrency is not just limited to providing a legal framework, as it recognizes the importance of infrastructure and talent. The government is taking action to support inbound talent and to attract infrastructure providers. As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, it is essential for jurisdictions like Hong Kong to continue to provide an attractive legal and regulatory framework to support the growth of the industry.
