Cryptocurrency start-ups fear new Hong Kong licensing regime falls short of linking them to main street finance
- Will new regulations help promote a bigger ecosystem for cryptocurrency assets when opening bank accounts continues to be a challenge for many start-ups, asks Ken Lo of HKbitEX
- Hong Kong’s consistent approach to regulating cryptocurrency firms does mean there will be more exchanges interested in the new licence, Eventus executive says
Cryptocurrency exchanges and start-ups have expressed concerns that a licensing regime to be introduced in Hong Kong for virtual asset service providers does not go far enough to lift them out of the periphery of main street finance and to level the playing field.
“Regulation of virtual assets is a global trend and will result in more transparency in the sector,” he said. “But the question now becomes – will the new regulations help promote a bigger ecosystem for cryptocurrency assets when opening bank accounts, for example, still remains a challenge for many start-ups?”
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Industry players say banks’ reluctance to provide services to cryptocurrency start-ups has proved to be a challenge to their growth, as the sector has been largely unregulated until recently.