Hong Kong’s monetary regulators have determined to retain the grace interval for crypto companies regardless of town grappling with main fraud scandals involving crypto alternate platforms JPEX and Hounax in current weeks, native media reported on Nov. 27.
The grace interval permits crypto companies to proceed working in Hong Kong with no license till June 2024 with the intention to enable ample time to adjust to new regulatory requirements launched earlier this yr.
Regardless of the current scams, the Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) believes that abrupt modifications to the grace interval could possibly be counterproductive, doubtlessly destabilizing the burgeoning digital asset sector in Hong Kong.
SFC Director of the Licensing and Fintech Unit Wong Lok-hei mentioned:
“Scams can occur with or with out the grace interval.”
In the meantime, SFC CEO Leung Fung-yee echoed the sentiment and mentioned buyers have to be cautious of schemes providing unrealistically excessive returns.
She added that platforms like Hounax usually are not regulated entities, and the SFC doesn’t have the ability to close down their operations immediately.
Excessive-profile crypto scandals
The overall variety of investment-related fraud instances in Hong Kong from January to September was a staggering 4,331 — amounting to losses of round HK$2.82 billion.
The JPEX and Hounax instances, involving misleading promoting ways and restrictions on withdrawals, have revealed important gaps within the regulatory oversight of digital property.
The Hong Kong police have lately escalated their actions in opposition to fraudulent actions within the crypto sphere, arresting 30 extra people linked to JPEX, bringing the overall variety of arrests to 66.
Regardless of these arrests, no formal fees have been pressed, and the suspects have been launched on bail. The JPEX scandal has left 2,623 folks victimized, with losses estimated at round HK$1.6 billion.
In the meantime, authorities lately issued warnings in opposition to Hounax after 131 victims who collectively misplaced near HK$120 million filed complaints in opposition to the platform. Essentially the most important single reported loss concerned a 69-year-old girl who was defrauded of HK$12 million.
In response to those incidents, the Hong Kong Police have suggested the general public to be vigilant, particularly relating to unsolicited funding alternatives on social media, suspicious cell apps, and unverified web sites. The SFC has additionally warned that platforms like Hounax are suspicious and have employed misleading ways to lure buyers.
