Asia's leading digital asset platform received approval for an automated trading and market license for digital assets. This is a big step forward for crypto-adoption in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's Financial Services Authority made the general decision to grant Asia's Digital Asset Platform OSL the license to conduct crypto-related business. This decision is the first step in the full licensing process, whereby the applicant must meet one or more requirements of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to obtain a license. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is the independent legislative body charged with regulating the securities and futures markets in Hong Kong.
Digital Assets Platform seeks license for regulated trading service
OSL is a member of the BC Group, a publicly listed fintech and digital asset company. It operates a digital asset exchange and combines relevant products such as over-the-counter trading, brokerage, insured custody and wallet services.
Once the conditions for final approval are met, the license will allow OSL to operate a brokerage and automated trading service for digital assets, including STOs. The company is well on its way to becoming the world's only publicly listed, licensed and insured platform for digital assets.
"The approval in principle of a license for a digital assets trading platform in Hong Kong, including security tokens, underlines our commitment to fully satisfy the needs of institutional investors." - Hugh Madden, CEO of BC Group.
SFC approval a decisive factor for regulatory clarity
Madden also said that while traditional finance has been watching this form of asset class with interest, the lack of regulatory clarity has so far discouraged investment.
Licensing, Madden said, is a critical factor in providing security and confidence to investors and enabling widespread participation as it drives the increasing use of the platform by the global institutional investor community.
"SFC demonstrated impressive foresight in 2017 when it began to develop an ecosystem for professional and institutional traders to invest in digital assets. Recent global regulatory developments, emerging experiments with sovereign digital currencies, and increasingly cashless societies show that digital assets are today's reality, not some distant dream." - Wayne Trench, CEO of OSL.
