Lawmaker Dr Johnny Ng has extended an invitation to all global virtual asset trading operators including the likes of Coinbase to apply for a license and “further development plans” in Hong Kong.
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. Please feel free to approach me and I am happy to provide any assistance. pic.twitter.com/bcIi1IjMlc
— Johnny Ng 吴杰庄 (@Johnny_nkc) June 10, 2023
In December 2022, Ng had co-founded startup accelerator G-Rocket with the aim to help 1,000 WEB3.0 firms set up their businesses in Hong Kong in the next three years.
He also shared his thoughts on how Hong Kong could potentially launch a virtual asset rating agency in a bid to gain investors’ trust in the WEB3.0 industry.
Hong Kong aims to become a virtual assets hub, and in line with that, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had announced last month that it will soon allow licensed trading platform operators to serve retail investors.
The SFC will begin enforcing the guidelines for Virtual Asset Trading Platform operators on 1 June 2023.
According to the SFC, it has yet to approve any virtual asset trading platform and most virtual asset trading platforms currently accessible by the public are not regulated.
This is in stark contrast with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cracking down on crypto exchanges by filing lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase for even though there are no concrete regulations for crypto exchanges in the country.
