JUST IN: Hong Kong is set to legalize Bitcoin and crypto trading

Hong Kong aspires to be a financial hub with a licensing regime for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and altcoins. Once Hong Kong legalizes cryptocurrency trading, it seeks to enforce licensing as early as March 2023.

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Hong Kong to legalize retail Bitcoin and crypto trading

Hong Kong aims to establish itself as a key financial hub and plans to start a licensing regime for crypto to allow retail trading of Bitcoin and altcoins. Bloomberg reported that Hong Kong has unveiled plans to legalize crypto trading and contradict China’s ban on retail digital asset trading services. 

The mandatory crypto licensing regime could be enforced as early as March 2023 and regulators are seeking permission to allow the listing of Bitcoin. The city has no plans to endorse any particular asset and the timeline to put the plan in action. Platforms and projects would apply for a license to offer crypto retail trading, sources close to the matter said in the Bloomberg report. 

Proponents believe that it is likely that listing requirements for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and altcoins will be based on market value liquidity and membership of third-party crypto indexes. 

The city is pivoting towards a friendlier crypto regulatory environment to attract cryptocurrency exchanges and projects set base in Hong Kong. Sources close to the matter asked Bloomberg not to name them since the information is not public yet. 

Hong Kong and China have opposing stances on treatment of cryptocurrencies and retail trading. The city has its own financial and judicial systems separate from the Chinese mainland, and the “One Country, Two Systems,” framework. 

Leonhard Weese, co-founder of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong reportedly said,

The kind of conversations I’ve had was that people still fear there’ll be a very strict licensing regime. Even if they’re able to deal directly with retail users, they’re still not going to be as attractive or as competitive as overseas platforms.