Hong Kong officially launches its first Bitcoin and crypto trading platform

[Jegileman]

Good news for bitcoin enthusiasts and crypto investors in Hong Kong after the government launches its first bitcoin and crypto trading platform.

HashKey Exchange and OSL Digital Securities Ltd. have won Hong Kong's first crypto exchange licenses under a new regime that allows exchanges to serve retail customers.

The two entities already had licenses from Hong Kong's previous opt-in licensing regime for crypto asset service providers, which may have helped expedite the new approvals.

Earlier, the HashKey Group announced plans to introduce a regulated exchange in the second quarter to serve retail customers and said it planned to raise funds at a $1 billion valuation to capitalize on Hong Kong's re-emergence as a potential crypto hub.

"Effective immediately, OSL Digital Securities offers retail investors the ability to register on its platform and access digital asset products, starting with the popular cryptocurrencies bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH)," a press statement from the exchange said.

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/08/03/hashkey-wins-hong-kongs-first-crypto-exchange-license-to-serve-retail-customers/?outputType=amp


In light of this, what potential value will this add to the people of Hong Kong. This platform is a centralized exchange and will be regulated by the government in the country. Do you think this move is a good one for the crypto adoption there and won’t the government be so strict with the use owing that it will be regulated by them fully?

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

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[franky1]

In light of this, what potential value will this add to the people of Hong Kong. This platform is a centralized exchange and will be regulated by the government in the country. Do you think this move is a good one for the crypto adoption there and won’t the government be so strict with the use owing that it will be regulated by them fully?

all exchanges are centralised and regulated.. so not big/negative news about that.. its just standard practice

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

the real news is that hongkong is a gateway for chinese citizens, which means that chinese people can now again trade bitcoin, whereby china previously banned bitcoin trading

[Husires]

Adoption is the one who will answer that. If the government finds that individuals are ready to deal with cryptocurrencies and that the ban will not produce a positive result, then they will consider dealing with these currencies as a matter of fact, imposing taxes on them, and establishing central platforms to ensure monitoring of depositors’ money and easy tracking of currencies, thus maintaining financial stability and expansion. in taxes.

Hong Kong will not be the last if this experiment succeeds. The rest of the countries will find an opportunity for more tax money and will follow the example of Hong Kong if the idea finds a successful application.

[hd49728]

Good news for bitcoin enthusiasts and crypto investors in Hong Kong after the government launches its first bitcoin and crypto trading platform.

Hong Kong has their government so any centralized exchange in that country will be regulated by their government and local laws. They can shut down that exchange any time.

It will be worse if Hong Kong be invaded by China mainland government and that scenario can not be excluded with more harsh activities from China mainland government recent years as well as the policy of their President Xi JinPing.

Hong Kong will not be the last if this experiment succeeds. The rest of the countries will find an opportunity for more tax money and will follow the example of Hong Kong if the idea finds a successful application.

Their government is friendly with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency now but they can change their policies and regulations in future. Like India or some nations in Europe, governments have lot of power to change many things in their nations.

[m2017]

The official launch of bitcoin and crypto trading platform in Hong Kong will have both positive and negative aspects for bitcoin adoption.

Regulation will attract more new users, and regulation by the government inspires confidence for the majority of the country's citizens. People unfamiliar with the ideas of financial freedom afforded by bitcoin will see this as a good indicator, and therefore I assume that this event should act as a good catalyst. But on the other hand, this platform will be tightly controlled and there can be no talk of confidentiality and privacy. Government authorities will know absolutely everything about the users of this platform and will be able to collect any taxes, and possibly, if necessary, block users' accounts on this platform.

In the short term, this news will have a positive effect, but in the long term - negative for digital freedom. No matter how we react to this event, we can no longer change the consequences.

[Wapfika]

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

the real news is that hongkong is a gateway for chinese citizens, which means that chinese people can now again trade bitcoin, whereby china previously banned bitcoin trading

Will China allow this? AFAIK Hong Kong has special type of government that gives them a little bit of separation from the Mainland China. I didn't read the full scooe of this exchange but I doubt China will permit this exchange to accept people form the Mainland. Correct me if I'm wrong because it's nonsense that they still ban all form of cryptocurrency use on their mainland and allow their people to use Hong Kong to bypass their law.

[Fiatless]

In light of this, what potential value will this add to the people of Hong Kong. This platform is a centralized exchange and will be regulated by the government in the country. Do you think this move is a good one for the crypto adoption there and won’t the government be so strict with the use owing that it will be regulated by them fully?

Most of these centralized platforms put in much money into advertisement which means more people will know more about Bitcoin. But the problem is that many shitcoin will also be promoted. Regulation leads to centralization and the latter defeats the main purpose of bitcoin. This move by HashKey Exchange and OSL Digital Securities Ltd is not to promote bitcoin but to make profit. These firms can do anything possible to make profit, they don't care about the success of bitcoin.

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

More crypto-related jobs will be created and the government will collect more tax. There will also be high liquidity in the market and traders will have more options. It will also be great if the exchange or customer deposit is insured by the national deposit insurance (Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board).

[cryptoaddictchie]

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

If those people there doesnt care of Government rules about crypto regulations of Hongkong maybe theres no problem. Surely few will hesitant to use it due to privacy reason but who knows how this will turn out since they just started. But this means that the crypto are now being accepted already and thats one part of advance in adoption.

[Crypto Library]

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

the real news is that hongkong is a gateway for chinese citizens, which means that chinese people can now again trade bitcoin, whereby china previously banned bitcoin trading

Will China allow this? AFAIK Hong Kong has special type of government that gives them a little bit of separation from the Mainland China. I didn't read the full scooe of this exchange but I doubt China will permit this exchange to accept people form the Mainland. Correct me if I'm wrong because it's nonsense that they still ban all form of cryptocurrency use on their mainland and allow their people to use Hong Kong to bypass their law.

Yes I am also confused on whether the Chinese government will impose any restrictions on Hong Kong for this. However, Hong Kong follows different customs and their governance system is also different from China. But even though the Chinese government speaks against it, Hong Kong will be able to implement it, but they may have to go through some trouble. But it's admirable that Hong Kong is legalizing crypto despite China banning it.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

This is not the big catch yet because government will  be the one to first feast on the exchange because they will regulate it and collect tax from them, anything that relates with crypto which is centralized is what the government will always hang around to feast on just as the case of the Indians government taxation on every users over transaction, maybe there's more to let the people get the awareness of in knowing the intentions of government over their financial situation and plan over any centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, but they can't try such with a decentralized network.

[benalexis12]

That's good news anyway; Hong Kong is already separated from China because it has its own government. That's fine, obviously, that's under the centralization of the Hong Kong government, of course. And there will be gradual adoption there at the moment.

And probably the other crypto enthusiasts there will also have an advantage because Hong Kong has already launched it.

[franky1]

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

the real news is that hongkong is a gateway for chinese citizens, which means that chinese people can now again trade bitcoin, whereby china previously banned bitcoin trading

Will China allow this? AFAIK Hong Kong has special type of government that gives them a little bit of separation from the Mainland China. I didn't read the full scooe of this exchange but I doubt China will permit this exchange to accept people form the Mainland. Correct me if I'm wrong because it's nonsense that they still ban all form of cryptocurrency use on their mainland and allow their people to use Hong Kong to bypass their law.

china do not want to separate hongkong from china. if china started to say that only hongkong citizens can do X and mainlanders cant. then that forms a separation.. which china never wants.
yes they have separate laws but mainlanders can use the services of hongkong

think of it like canada and US have different laws. but that does not stop someone in canada from buying produce from the US, nor does it stop a canadian from using a US exchange
even things like. if a US state bans gambling. it does not stop a US citizen from going across state lines to then gamble in a gambling allowed state. the citizen wont get arrested when they return home

another for instance.. the US currently is not allowing a spot ETF.. yet europe and australia do have spot ETF's which US citizens can use

[bhadz]

Do you think this move is a good one for the crypto adoption there and won’t the government be so strict with the use owing that it will be regulated by them fully?

Definitely a good move by the Hong Kong's government. Being strict is subjective but you can expect what to expect from them by approving these exchanges since they're regulated.

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there. Privacy of ownership while trading with those platforms will be very limited. Overall, I think it is still a good development looking to the mass adoption of bitcoin we are anticipating for.

Not just entirely for the crypto community there but also for the government because it will serve more tax matters. And with the goal of its government to capitalize everything that they can gain tax to, they'll do it and that's why this is an initiative that proves of their goal to attain a certain target for their recovery plan due to covid-19 effect and global economic crisis.

[bocyaj]

china do not want to separate hongkong from china. if china started to say that only hongkong citizens can do X and mainlanders cant. then that forms a separation.. which china never wants.
yes they have separate laws but mainlanders can use the services of hongkong

think of it like canada and US have different laws. but that does not stop someone in canada from buying produce from the US, nor does it stop a canadian from using a US exchange
even things like. if a US state bans gambling. it does not stop a US citizen from going across state lines to then gamble in a gambling allowed state. the citizen wont get arrested when they return home

another for instance.. the US currently is not allowing a spot ETF.. yet europe and australia do have spot ETF's which US citizens can use

It was the strongest opinion of China, based on this they use to create a Five finger policy which include the Hong Kong.It's all based on the people opinion,the people in Hong Kong may need of cryptocurrency for now.The government may secretly find out the number of cryptocurrency based traders in their country.If I was not wrong the people who uses cryptocurrency may be above 60 percentage of the younger population.This may trigger the Hong Kong to start the trading platform.This will be the good news for the traders for sure and for us.When the government officially announced means the demand for cryptocurrency and Bitcoin will going to increase the maximum value.So it's essential for elder people to hold your holding bitcoin.The price of bitcoin will increase to new all time high value soon.

[Woodie]

Its long overdue for a highly technological country!!! Btw, this works in bitcoins favor as sooner or later other countries around the world will feel left out in this fintech adoption, and will be forced to accommodate cryptocurrencies with a favorable regulatory framework..which translates into demand for crypto.

Am just hoping China won't be knocking on Hong Kongs doors in trying to dictate how they should be running the country or using their financial freedom because we have seen how these guys tried to suppress their freedoms some few months back.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

I think people in Hong Kong don't really need this.
There are so many physical exchange shops where you can buy and sell any coin with great fees and mostly without any KYC.

I only made good experiences with those shops and can only recommend them. ATMs are also available, and I mean many of them, but the fees are not good to be honest;

Will go to HK in 2 weeks, let's see if this is up and running then already.

[sheenshane]

Will China allow this? AFAIK Hong Kong has special type of government that gives them a little bit of separation from the Mainland China.

AFAIK and as I read before in articles they called it "one country, two systems" so I think Hong Kong now has a separate law that doesn't depend on China.  Hong Kong's government has its own regulatory authority and can regulate and oversee activities within its jurisdiction, including centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, so if a centralized exchange operates within Hong Kong, it would be subject to local laws and regulations and China won't be able to stop it.

This is good news and it could increase adoption, people can still have crypto even if it's regulated so I think this is the best way for them.
Higher adoption rates would likely lead to increased awareness and acceptance of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology among the general public, potentially making them a more integral part of everyday financial transactions.
IMO, it's a good news.

[bbc.reporter]

I think people in Hong Kong don't really need this.
There are so many physical exchange shops where you can buy and sell any coin with great fees and mostly without any KYC.

I only made good experiences with those shops and can only recommend them. ATMs are also available, and I mean many of them, but the fees are not good to be honest;

Will go to HK in 2 weeks, let's see if this is up and running then already.

Agreed that small minnows like you and me might not need this, however, there are also whales in Hong Kong who want to trade cryptocoins with size and they need a professional platform with marketmakers that can handle their liquidity and cashflow. Also, this platform will open access to instutional investors.

This is very much needed if we want more cashflow from China to go into the cryptospace.

[Gallar]

~Snip
In light of this, what potential value will this add to the people of Hong Kong. This platform is a centralized exchange and will be regulated by the government in the country. Do you think this move is a good one for the crypto adoption there and won’t the government be so strict with the use owing that it will be regulated by them fully?

If you look at it broadly, the existence of a crypto exchange platform will actually have a good impact. Because then, the development of crypto and bitcoin in Hong Kong will further develop. But with the regulation of the exchange platform by the government as a whole, in my opinion, this is what will become uncomfortable for crypto investors in Hong Kong. Because then, like the opinion that OP wrote, there will definitely be rules and conditions imposed by the Hong Kong government, which might be very strict or could be like implementing a fairly large tax system. Whereas investors in crypto, as I know, really don't like things that smell centralized, and are regulated by the government.
But even so, with the creation of a new crypto exchange platform in Hong Kong, I think it will definitely have a pretty good impact on the progress of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

This is a good move to crypto adoption in that region since it’ll gain more use and popularity there.

It is true, with the creation of a crypto exchange platform, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are likely to become more popular in Hong Kong society. But can crypto currency become popular quickly?, I also can't predict it for now. Because the exchange platform is also very newly created. So I personally also don't get a picture of how crypto investors in Hong Kong and other Hong Kong people (not crypto investors) will react.

[noorman0]

-snip-
Do you think this move is a good one for the crypto adoption there and won’t the government be so strict with the use owing that it will be regulated by them fully?

I'm curious about this particular regulatory framework, the problem is that the emergence of new centralized exchanges is no longer a joy for us (it's even bad news because it means the growth of centralized entities is thriving). As for the expected implementation and adoption, it will not work as intended for bitcoin, it will only go through government-approved fintech platforms.