The chief executive of one of Hong Kong’s two licensed cryptocurrency exchanges has hit out at the city’s new approach to trading digital assets, saying it could restrict access to global clients.
Hong Kong’s new regime for crypto exchanges, which is part of its push to become a hub for the industry, required exchanges operating in the city to apply for regulatory approval by February this year, with 24 companies making bids for the highly prized licences.
But Livio Weng, chief executive of HashKey Exchange, told the Financial Times that its decision to launch an exchange licensed in Bermuda this week was in part owing to fears that the new regulations restricted access to overseas investors.