SFC CEO Leung: virtual assets have become a tool ‘in the race for financial supremacy'
Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
'Virtual assets have become a tool in the race for financial supremacy,' Leung told an audience of journalists, investors and government officials at the Caixin Summer Summit in Hong Kong on Friday.
'Beyond the trading platforms we've already licensed, our next step is to bring over-the-counter (OTC) trading and custodial institutions into our regulatory perimeter,' she added.
As of January, Hong Kong had granted licences to nine virtual asset trading platforms and regulators were now turning their attention to stablecoins.
A new law will take effect on August 1 requiring all stablecoin issuers to obtain a licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Last year, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau published proposals for licensing OTC virtual asset operators.
Leung said the SFC's approach to virtual assets was the same as with traditional securities.
'A virtual asset exchange is, at its heart, an exchange for trading – and it also functions as a broker,' she said. 'That's why we require all platforms and brokers under our supervision to segregate client assets, maintain transparency, manage conflicts of interest and handle all related matters appropriately.'
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