The plan of the Securities and Futures Commission to allow retail investors to trade virtual assets is not a "return to the right path," the deputy chief executive, Julia Leung Fung-yee, said yesterday, stressing that Hong Kong has been a pioneer in the regulation of virtual assets.
Responding to comments that the authority is finally back on the right track with its recent proposal on allowing retail trade, Leung said the SFC has been considering doing so for a long time but the authority believes now is an opportune time with better investor education.
The SFC will make a public consultation on the details of regulating licensed virtual asset trading platforms once the amendment to the anti-money laundering bill passes the Legislative Council, said Elizabeth Wong Lok-yan, director of licensing and head of the fintech unit.
The SFC needs a new law to empower it to oversee cryptocurrencies like bitcoin because they are not security token offerings, which is regulated by the SFC, Wong said.
There is no need to be particularly concerned that the government's attitude toward virtual assets would be very conservative, said Justin To Yick-ting, the Principal Assistant Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.
This came as cryptocurrencies fell heavily yesterday and the in-house token of major crypto exchange FTX slumped by more than 15 percent as investors appeared to take fright at talk of pressure on FTX's financials.
Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market value, fell as much as 6 percent to US$19,351 (HK$150,938), its lowest in two weeks.
In other news, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388) said its new platform, Fast Interface for New Issuance, is expected to be officially launched in June next year.
FINI, which is to streamline and digitalize Hong Kong's initial public offering settlement process, started accepting user registration yesterday, HKEX said.
Julia Leung says Hong Kong is a pioneer in the regulation of virtual assets. Sing TAO
