Hong Kong to Introduce Licensing for Crypto Platforms Through AML Law

New authorities tailored to modulate the crypto abstraction successful Hong Kong aims to instrumentality a licensing authorities for crypto work providers. The respective changes to the region’s anti-money laundering (AML) rules person been submitted to its legislature portion a precocious published study examines applicable threats.

Hong Kong Lawmakers to Review Bill Aligning Crypto Sector With Financial Industry

Amendments designed to govern the cryptocurrency marketplace successful Hong Kong person been presented to the members of the Legislative Council of China’s peculiar administrative region. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022, which was published successful the authorities gazette successful June, needs their support successful 2 readings to go law.

The authors of draught question to present licensing for virtual plus work providers (VASPs) and registration for dealers successful precious metals and stones (DPMS). The extremity is to enforce anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations connected the businesses operating successful the 2 sectors.

Entities moving with cryptocurrencies that privation to motorboat a trading platform, for example, would person to get a licence from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and fulfill a fig of requirements. The connection takes into relationship the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force connected Money Laundering (FATF) which sets the planetary standards successful the field.

The caller requirements for VASPs are comparable to those that use to accepted institutions successful the fiscal services assemblage and they volition person to conscionable akin fiscal adequacy requirements, Andrew Leelarthaepin, crypto speech Bitstamp’s managing manager for Asia Pacific, noted successful nonfiction published by the South China Morning Post. In his opinion, that recognizes crypto firms arsenic a constituent of Hong Kong’s fiscal system. The enforcement elaborated:

Put simply, VASPs tin expect to beryllium regulated to the aforesaid modular arsenic our organization clients. The instrumentality recognizes VASPs arsenic adjacent organizations wrong the fiscal services sector.

Under the upcoming legislation, the SFC volition besides beryllium liable to guarantee that virtual plus work providers follow due listing and trading policies arsenic good arsenic fiscal reporting and disclosure procedures. The Commission volition besides observe the implementation of mechanisms designed to forestall marketplace manipulation and conflicts of interest.

As legislators hole to o.k. the caller regulatory framework, the latest edition of Hong Kong’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment Report has paid peculiar attraction to the threats and vulnerabilities successful the crypto space. While acknowledging their potentials and expanding popularity, the papers besides highlights the vulnerability of virtual assets to assorted risks and the challenges they airs for investor protection.

How bash you deliberation volition the caller regulations impact the crypto manufacture successful Hong Kong? Share your expectations successful the comments conception below.