Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (the FSTB) published a consultation paper[1] proposing a new licensing regime for virtual asset exchanges under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) on 3 November 2020. The new regime would require the licensing of virtual asset exchanges that are not required to be licensed under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) because they trade virtual assets which are not within the statutory definitions of “securities” or “futures contracts”. The new regime would be administered and enforced by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) which will be given the necessary powers under the AMLO. Read More…
