BitMart Pulls Application for Hong Kong VASP License

Crypto trade BitMart withdrew its utility for a digital asset service supplier license in Hong Kong.

In keeping with the list of digital asset buying and selling platforms maintained by the Hong Kong regulator, the Securities and Futures Fee (SFC), BitMart withdrew its utility on Thursday.

This adopted comparable selections by different crypto buying and selling platforms. Main crypto trade Bybit applied last year however withdrew its utility on the finish of Could 2024. Equally, OKX withdrew its utility on the finish of Could, as did Gate.

As Cointelegraph reported at the time, a wave of crypto exchanges withdrew their functions forward of a deadline that noticed the native regulator expel all unlicensed platforms. This was a consequence of stringent necessities for native crypto exchanges.

Associated: Hong Kong warns of fraud risk after new stablecoin rules

Excessive necessities for Hong Kong crypto exchanges

Hong Kong laws require any centralized crypto platform working on its territory or advertising and marketing to native buyers to be licensed by the SFC. Licensing requires platforms to maintain liquid belongings equal to a minimum of 12 months of working bills and preserve a minimum of 5 million Hong Kong {dollars} ($641,490) value of paid-up share capital.

Moreover, 98% of shopper belongings should stay in chilly storage, and transfers are restricted to whitelisted addresses solely. Regulators require strict key administration, and insurance coverage should cowl 100% of sizzling storage and 50% chilly storage holdings.

New guidelines for crypto custody providers authorized earlier this month additionally further tighten controls and ban relying on smart contracts for chilly pockets administration.

In 2025, Hong Kong awarded operational licenses to 4 crypto exchanges to this point: PantherTrade, YAX, Bullish and BGE. In complete, 11 crypto exchanges presently function as licensed crypto exchanges in Hong Kong, as proven beneath.

Associated: Animoca and Standard Chartered form stablecoin venture in Hong Kong

Hong Kong goals to develop into a crypto hub

Hong Kong is creating its rigorous crypto regulatory framework to help a crypto trade, leveraging its place as a monetary hub. The technique is already bearing its fruits, with CMB Worldwide Securities Restricted, a subsidiary of the China Retailers Financial institution (CMB) — certainly one of China’s prime banks — recently launching a crypto exchange in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong regulators additionally purpose to determine a strong stablecoin regulatory base, with the Hong Kong Financial Authority having finalized its regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers earlier this month. This framework was additionally stringent sufficient to negatively influence some native corporations.

Identical to the crypto trade guidelines, the introduction of the brand new stablecoin framework led to related native firms posting double-digit losses on Aug. 1. Analysts on the time described the sell-off as a wholesome correction, as the necessities for stablecoin issuers proved to be extra stringent than anticipated.