A crypto advocacy group has issued a warning regarding the proposed rules on digital asset investment by Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB). The warning is pretty serious – the group is afraid that the rules may drive traders toward unregulated platforms.
The FSTB announced in November 2020 a new framework in which all digital asset exchanges would be monitored by the Securities and Futures Commission and limit trading in crypto to professional investors only.
If this were to happen, the Global Digital Finance (GDF) believes it would basically encourage retail investors to look for unlicensed and peer-to-peer platforms. GDF is representing several important crypto firms such as Coinbase, OKCoin, and BitMEX.
GDF also mentioned that the financial risk for retail investors would grow – as a result, they could start looking for alternative trading venues.
“Restricting cryptocurrency trading to professional investors only is different to what we have seen in other jurisdictions such as Singapore, the UK, and the US, where retail investors can buy and sell virtual assets,” declared Malcolm Wright, chairman of GDF’s advisory council.