Hong Kong-based crypto companies getting ready for the brand new licensing regime for crypto exchanges in June have discovered surprising allies within the area. Chinese language state-owned banks, together with Shanghai Pudong Growth Financial institution, the Financial institution of Communications Co., and Financial institution of China Ltd., have reportedly began providing banking providers to crypto companies in Hong Kong or have made inquiries with them, in accordance with “folks with information of the matter” cited in a Bloomberg report revealed on March 27.
The Chinese language banks’ help for Hong Kong’s crypto business is noteworthy given the Chinese language authorities’s ongoing ban on crypto-related actions. One supply even claimed {that a} Chinese language financial institution gross sales consultant visited a crypto agency’s principal workplace to pitch banking providers.
“This growth is encouraging for each the business and the broader ecosystem, because it demonstrates a maturing understanding of the crypto sector by conventional monetary establishments,” stated a consultant from a Hong Kong-based crypto agency.
It’s unclear which crypto companies have been approached by the state-owned Chinese language banks, as a spokesperson for a agency declined to remark. Nonetheless, this transfer is seen as a constructive step in direction of legitimizing crypto-related actions in Hong Kong.
In October 2022, the Hong Kong authorities proposed introducing its personal invoice to control crypto-related actions within the area. The Securities and Futures Fee of Hong Kong launched a proposal for a regime for cryptocurrency exchanges on February 20, which is ready to take impact in June. The brand new licensing regime would require crypto exchanges to acquire licenses from the Securities and Futures Fee and adjust to laws on KYC (know-your-customer), AML (anti-money laundering), and different areas.
Regardless of China’s ban on crypto-related actions, representatives from the China Liaison Workplace have reportedly been attending Hong Kong crypto gatherings. This might sign a shift in China’s method to cryptocurrencies, because the nation appears to faucet into the rising marketplace for digital belongings.
The transfer by Chinese language banks to supply banking providers to crypto companies in Hong Kong additionally displays a rising pattern amongst conventional monetary establishments to embrace cryptocurrencies. As extra nations introduce laws for crypto-related actions, monetary establishments are beginning to acknowledge the potential of digital belongings and the necessity to combine them into their current methods. This transfer might assist bridge the hole between the crypto business and conventional finance, paving the best way for better adoption of cryptocurrencies.
