Hong Kong’s monetary regulator is predicted to create a devoted whitelist of tokens that retail customers can be allowed to commerce.
The brand new token whitelist was proposed on Wednesday by Julia Leung, the CEO of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) throughout a panel dialogue in Hong Kong. Leung didn’t reveal which particular tokens she had in thoughts for the proposed whitelist, however she mentioned her company will now search public opinion about guardrails for retail crypto buying and selling.
As a place to begin, it’s anticipated that not less than bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) will make the record, provided that there are already ETFs permitted within the metropolis which might be backed by the 2 cryptocurrencies.
“Digital property have previously 12 months gone from peak to low [price] ranges. The nice factor is that when the froth is taken out from the system as platforms and a few tokens collapsed, it focuses traders and sellers’ minds on investor safety,” Leung was quoted by Reuters as saying in the course of the dialogue.
She added that SFC will begin accepting functions for licenses below its new digital asset service supplier (VSAP) regime in mid 2024. From that point on, all crypto exchanges working within the metropolis can be required to carry a license, or danger fines or jail sentences.
Through the dialogue, Leung additionally famous that tokenized actual property, together with tokenized shares, will fall below the jurisdiction of her company.
Hong Kong positioning as crypto hub
The transfer to create a devoted record of permitted tokens for retail customers comes after Hong Kong’s Monetary Secretary Paul Chan as just lately as this week reiterated an ambition for the town to become an international crypto hub.
“As sure crypto exchanges collapsed one after one other, Hong Kong turned a high quality standing level for digital asset corporates,” Chan mentioned at a Web3-focused seminar in Hong Kong. He added that Hong Kong has a strong regulatory framework that “matches worldwide norms and requirements,” but additionally prohibits “free-riders.”
The feedback from the Monetary Secretary got here after SFC’s Leung in November final 12 months supplied additional proof that Hong Kong is severe about its crypto ambitions by giving the greenlight for retail access to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that observe crypto futures.
“[The SFC is] actively seeking to arrange a system to authorize ETFs that present mainstream digital property with acceptable investor guardrails,” Leung mentioned on the time.
Shortly after, two ETFs – CSOP Asset Administration’s Bitcoin Futures ETF and Ether Futures ETF – debuted in Hong Kong as the primary of their type within the metropolis.