The Hong Kong Financial Services and Supervisory Authority and the Treasury Office (FTSB) have drafted a proposal that, if implemented, would mean that all cryptocurrency exchanges and trading would be regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission and crypto trading operations for retail investors would be banned, as professionals would be allowed Only buying and selling digital currencies.

This means that retail investors will be incentivized to use unlicensed peer-to-peer trading platforms if the proposal is implemented.

This may also increase not only the financial risk of retail investors but financial crime in general.

This was confirmed by Global Digital Finance, which represents digital currency trading platforms “BitMEX”, “Huobi”, “OkCoin” and “Coinbase”, where it reported that if the trading of cryptocurrencies is banned for retail investors in “Hong Kong”, investors may resort to To unregulated platforms away from the law.

Read:For the first time: Total value booked in DeFi projects exceeds $200 billion

Mr. Malcolm Wright also indicated that this could prompt many to trade in external trading platforms, according to the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Global Digital Finance.

Wright added that Hong Kong’s intention to restrict the circulation of digital currencies and make it the preserve of professional investors only differs from what the major financial countries did.

According to Hong Kong securities regulations, a professional investor is classified as someone with an investment portfolio of at least HK$8 million (about $1 million).

Wright said to source By saying:

“Restricting cryptocurrency trading and making it only in the hands of professional investors is different from what we have seen in other jurisdictions such as Singapore, the UK and the US, where retail investors can buy and sell digital currencies.

Global Digital Finance noted that Hong Kong’s proposal to restrict retail trade differs from the approach of senior members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The proposed regulatory proposal by the Financial Services and Treasury Office in Hong Kong is an attempt to comply with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Read:The Spanish Central Bank is paying attention to the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC)

Through the proposal, anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist financing policies will be strengthened, and their scope will include cryptocurrency exchanges.

But the proposal announced in Hong Kong has not been warmly received by advocates of cryptocurrency, such as the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong, which has demanded a proper justification for banning the average citizen from trading cryptocurrencies.

It should be noted that the proposal is still a proposal and has not yet been implemented and implemented on the ground.

Read also:

The case of Ripple and the SEC is ongoing with no prospect of settlement at this time

The digital currency “XVG” is under attack by 51% and the project team denies it!