Hong Kong crypto exchange licenses are now costing applicants millions of dollars, a significant decrease from the $25 million price tag seen a year earlier.
During an interview with the Financial Times, Livio Wang, the chief operating officer of HashKey Group, mentioned that the cost of obtaining a crypto exchange license is not in the tens of millions of dollars, but rather in the tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars (equating to several million USD).
Wang explained that the expenses involved in preparing the license review materials differ from those incurred during the operational phase. He emphasized that since June 1, Hong Kong regulators have expelled all unlicensed crypto exchanges from the city, with potential criminal charges for non-compliance. Presently, there are over 11 companies with a “deemed to be licensed” status, in contrast to just two fully licensed exchanges last year: HashKey and OSL.
In the interview, Wang disclosed that HashKey Exchange, since its inception, now oversees $500 million in user assets and has facilitated $440 billion in total trades. He highlighted that the number of activated customers has soared by 267% this week compared to last week, with more than triple the amount of newly activated customers.
In April, HashKey established a global exchange in Bermuda for international users, following the footsteps of Coinbase. Unlike its Hong Kong-based counterpart, HashKey Global will not cater to customers in Hong Kong, China, the United States, and various other regions.
The implementation of Hong Kong’s exchange licensing system was hindered last year when an unlicensed crypto exchange, JPEX, flouted existing regulations and defrauded investors of $166 million before collapsing in September 2023.
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