Crypto exchanges Gate.io, OKX retreat from Hong Kong licensing efforts

Two
prominent
global
exchanges’
subsidiaries
—
Gate.io
and

OKX
—
have
withdrawn
their
applications
for
an
operational
license
in
Hong
Kong
in
the
last
two
days.

This
decision
reflects
a
broader
trend,
as
eight
firms—including
exchanges
backed
by

Binance
and

HTX—have
also
abandoned
their
licensing
efforts
in
the
city-state,
according
to
a
notice
on
the
Securities
and
Futures
Commission
(SFC)

website.

Meanwhile,
the
regulator
is
still
reviewing
applications
from
several
other
crypto
exchanges,
including

Crypto.com,

Bullish,
and
Matrixport.
Notably,
the
SFC
has
approved
licenses
for
only
two
exchanges
in
the
region,
OSL
and

HashKey.

OKX
bows
out

In
a
May
24
notice,
Hong
Kong-based
crypto
exchange
OKX
HK
announced
the
withdrawal
of
its
application
for
a
Virtual
Asset
Service
Provider
(VASP)
license
in
the
region.
The
exchange

stated:

“OKX
will
cease
to
provide
centralized
virtual
asset
trading
services
to
Hong
Kong
residents
by
31
May
2024
(Friday)
in
accordance
with
regulatory
requirements.
Customer
funds
remain
safe
and
withdrawal
services
will
not
be
affected.
After
31
May
2024,
customers
will
only
be
able
to
withdraw.”

Consequently,
OKX
advised
its
customers
to
refrain
from
making
deposits
after
May
31,
as
these
deposits
may
not
be
processed
automatically.
The
exchange
also
set
an
Aug.
31
deadline
for
users
to
withdraw
their
assets
from
its
platform.

Gate.HK
application
withdrawal

Similarly,
Gate.io’s
Hong
Kong
unit

announced
on
May
23
that
it
had
withdrawn
its
application
for
a
virtual
asset
trading
platform
license.

The
firm
explained
that
the
decision
was
part
of
a
comprehensive
platform
overhaul
strategy
that
would
halt
the
registration
of
new
users,
deposits,
and
marketing
activities
in
Hong
Kong.
Additionally,
the
platform
intends
to
delist
all
major
tokens,
including

Bitcoin,

Polkadot,

Ethereum,
and
others.

The
platform
said
it
will
cease
all
trading
services
by
May
28
and
advised
users
to
withdraw
their
assets
before
Aug.
28.

Launched
in
2023,
Gate.HK
submitted
its
license
application
to
the
SFC
in
February
in
compliance
with
new
regulations
mandating
that
exchanges
serving
Hong
Kong
customers
must
obtain
an
operational
license
in
the
region.

Mentioned
in
this
article

Posted
In:

Hong
Kong,

Exchanges

Go to Source
Author: Oluwapelumi Adejumo

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