Hashkey Gets Regulatory Nod To Provide OTC Services In Hong Kong

Summary:
• The Hashkey group has received the regulatory nod from Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. It will provide OTC services with HBL in the city

Hashkey, one of the leading digital assets services providers in Asia, has received a license to host OTC trading. HBL will be assisting Haskey in carrying out OTC trades. The collaboration will also allow trading of assets that are not even available on the order book.

Hong Kong Embraces Crypto & Blockchain

The Hashkey SFC partnership comes as no surprise as recently Hong Kong disclosed its plan to unban crypto trading. The move came after as lawmakers kept pushing the regulators to allow digital assets trading in the city. The Hong Kong regulators also welcomed proposals from industry players to formulate guidelines for the crypto businesses.

However, it was also warned that the brokers would need to register with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The platforms which failed to register with SFC by June 2024 will have to face ‘strict actions’.

The Haskey Capital acts as the venture arm of Hashkey which was founded by CEO Michael Lee. As of 2022, Hashkey Capital portfolio has invested in more than 200 companies and 17 regions. The diverse portfolio includes the top projects like Alchemy, Astro X, Coinmetrics, Flipsidecrypto and Hex Trust.

Hashkey Crypto Keeps Expanding In SE Asia

Hashkey is one of the only few regulated crypto companies in Asia. It is expanding its businesses in Singapore, Japan and now Hong Kong at a very rapid pace. Apart from securing an OTC license in Hong Kong, it also has a license to carry our OTC services in Japan. The Japanese regulatory nod was given by the Financial Services Agency of Japan.

The regulatory approvals in multiple jurisdictions show the Hashkey Group’s commitment to providing secure services to its client. The last year’s contagion of the collapse of major crypto businesses emphasized the significance of regulatory protection. Millions of users had to lose their funds due to the unregulated activities of FTX, Voyager, and Celsius.

Last year’s event have triggered an SEC crackdown against ‘unregistered securities’. In its recent move, the US regulator called the Binance US dollar (BUSD) a security. The issuing company Paxos has stopped the issuance of the 3rd biggest stablecoin since then.