EditorialIt is about time that Legco moves to act on cryptocurrencies
- The job of regulators is to assess risks, protect investors and ensure market integrity.
- A bill being prepared for the Legislative Council that is expected to bar retail investors from trading such currencies is both timely and welcome
The Wild West of cryptocurrencies is coming to an end. Mainland China has already outlawed their trading and mining. Many other countries are following suit or at least planning tough regulations.
Hong Kong, too, is introducing new rules and regulations through the Legislative Council, such as licensing exchanges and traders to deal with such currencies. It is expected a bill being prepared for the Legislative Council will bar retail investors from trading such currencies.
It is about time.
As if to underscore how risky such so-called investments are, American authorities have recovered a record sum of more than 94,000 bitcoin – currently valued at US$3.6 billion – stolen from a Hong Kong virtual exchange in 2016.
A New York couple, Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his 31-year-old wife Heather Morgan – who has enjoyed a high-profile TikTok presence – have been arrested and charged for allegedly trying to launder some of the bitcoin.
The heist in Hong Kong is one of several that have raised alarm bells about the security of cyber-currencies and the hitherto unregulated exchanges that trade them.