Hong Kong To Issue Cryptocurrency Trading Regulations

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will publish new regulations for digital currency exchange desk in the city, Reuters reports.

What It Means

The guidelines will allow the exchanges to operate in the autonomous region under China within a legal framework. They will be regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

In a first, the SFC published guiding frameworks for both cryptocurrency investors and trading platforms in Oct. 2018.

The new framework will include guidelines on know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, which deals with the verification of users trading on the exchange desks. 

They will also cover rules related to the custody and storage of cryptocurrency assets, Alder said at the event, according to Reuters.

Why It Matters

The lack of regulations previously forced many prominent exchanges out of the city, including Binance, which went on to become the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading desk by daily volume at one point, in a meteoric rise.

As Hong Kong hit a recession in the third quarter this year, Bitcoin trading volume spiked to an all-time high in the city, data from Coin Dance shows.

In mainland China, all cryptocurrency trading remains illegal since Sept. 2017.