Crypto Exchange, Houbi Plans Hong Kong Expansion

Major crypto exchange, Houbi has shown interest to extend operations to Hong Kong as the region considers new regulations and licensing that would serve retail customers. This announcement was made by a key advisor to Huobi’s global advisory board, Justin Sun. 

According to the company, it would also open a new exchange named Houbi Hong Kong that would concentrate on institutions and high-net-worth individuals. 

Justin Sun also added that the company, Houbi Exchange may move its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong to capitalise on the city’s attempt to establish itself as a digital asset hub. 

Investors King could recall that Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Monday published its proposed rules for virtual asset trading while also seeking comments from the public. 

Aside from setting up a licensing regime for crypto service providers, the regulator is also seeking views on whether to allow licensed platforms to serve retail investors and under what investor protection measures these services should be offered.

The consultation paper published on Monday sets out proposed requirements, like assessing clients’ risk profiles and setting limits to ensure their exposure is “reasonable.”

Under the proposed measures, it will be up to operators to do due diligence on tokens and monitor them. The consultation paper also proposes checks on the operator’s liquidity and whether its holdings are concentrated or controlled by a small number of individuals or entities.

The proposed measures also state that operators should not offer virtual assets which fall within the definition of “securities” if it would breach Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Ordinance while operators can only offer tokens which satisfy the SFC’s criteria for an “eligible large-cap virtual asset,” listed on two “acceptable indices.”

Meanwhile, Huobi Token (HT) is surging as the crypto exchange applies for a license to operate in Hong Kong. The token skyrocketed by more than 31% over the past 24 hours. Thereby, outperforming most of the notable coins.