Hong Kong has pushed ahead with plans to let retail investors trade cryptocurrencies as it vies with Singapore for supremacy as a digital assets hub.
Under plans launched on Monday by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the industry’s two largest crypto tokens — bitcoin and ether — would be opened up to retail customers, and licensed exchanges would be required to ensure clients have “sufficient knowledge of virtual assets” before they are allowed to trade. All digital asset trading platforms operating in Hong Kong or actively marketing to Hong Kong investors would need to be licensed by the SFC.
The proposals, which will first be subject to a six-week consultation with “interested parties”, would also require that no more than 2 per cent of client funds be stored in “hot wallets”, a term used to describe online accounts seen as vulnerable to hacks or phishing scams because their keys are stored online.