The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has recently released its consultation conclusions on the Proposed Regulatory Requirements for Virtual Asset Trading Platform Operators Licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission in February 2023. This finalises the detailed regulatory requirements for Virtual Asset Trading Platforms operators under the SFC licensing regime. Along with the licensing regime under the new Part 5B of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, which came into effect on 1 June 2023, Hong Kong now has two licensing regimes for entities carrying on a business of operating a virtual asset trading platform. This webinar discusses the requirements for platform operators to become licensed under the two regimes and their ongoing obligations under them. It covers the following topics: ∙ the overview of the Hong Kong Virtual Asset Service Provider licensing regime and the background to the SFC consultation conclusions on the proposed regulatory requirements for Virtual Asset Trading Platform operators; ∙ retail access to licensed virtual asset trading platforms; ∙ insurance or compensation arrangements; ∙ trading in virtual asset derivatives; ∙ other adaptations to existing requirements incorporated into the SFC’s Guidelines for Virtual Asset Trading Platform Operators; and ∙ the transitional arrangements under the licensing regimes.
