According to Xu Zhengyu, the license structure is based on the Financial Action Task Force’s newly proposed laws on financial institutions.
All virtual Asset exchanges operating in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region must first obtain a license from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong in order to provide services in the territory.
- This licensing system will apply to virtual assets that are both securities and non-securities in nature (such as Bitcoin, the most valuable at the moment).
- Some of the same laws that apply to regular financial institutions, such as anti-money laundering regulations, will apply to virtual asset exchanges as they do to traditional financial institutions.
- Virtual securities service providers must adopt appropriate rules and methods to avoid market manipulation in order to maintain regulatory consistency.
- These rules and methods must be based on requirements and obligations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and investor protection.
