Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2169935/hong-kong-needs-digital-currency-regulation-because-someone-needs
Comment/ Letters

Hong Kong needs digital currency regulation, because someone needs to look out for investors

    Hong Kong’s outgoing Securities and Futures Commission chairman has said the SFC is looking into regulation for cryptocurrencies to protect investors, and a total ban on such platforms is not realistic due to their international reach. Photo: Reuters

    Your editorial calling for safeguards for investors is timely (“Digital currencies need right regulator”, October 17), especially given that some governments consider trading in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to be a Ponzi scheme.

    Going by my recent experience of using online trading platforms, I find there are many high-pressure operators online that aim to convince you their gamble is a sound “investment”. Many people have learned a costly lesson from bitter experience.

    Furthermore, credit card companies seem to be able to do little to prevent scam operations from ripping people off. The Hong Kong police do not have any jurisdiction in other countries, so they cannot help people who lose their money to shady or criminal foreign operators.

    When things go wrong and people lose their hard-earned savings, the credit card companies, banks and the unregulated online trading platforms all spout their self-serving terms and conditions that offer no consumer protection.

    All financial institutions aim to make money out of the services they offer to customers in handling currencies, but they need to act ethically and responsibly.

    Nigel Pearson, Tsuen Wan