In December 2022, Hong Kong legislators approved an amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) that is consistent with the region's current position on extending the potential of cryptocurrency trading.
With the addition of a new licensing structure for operators of virtual asset services, individual investors will now be able to trade in virtual assets. Currently, only seasoned investors or traders with documentation of at least $1 million in financially successful assets are permitted to trade virtual assets. The first two traders in Hong Kong to provide virtual asset trading for its corporate clients were Interactive Brokers and Victory Securities.
Robert Lui, the leader for digital assets at Deloitte Hong Kong, predicts that ordinary investors would probably be able to trade virtual assets with a significant market valuation and liquidity.
At the moment, brokers operating in Hong Kong can serve customers who trade exchange-traded funds based on Bitcoin and Ether that are listed in Hong Kong without a particular license. However, firms that provide virtual asset trading will also need further SFC permission. In order to allow virtual asset service providers more time to properly prepare, the new licensing was initially slated to go into effect on March 1 of this year but was subsequently delayed until June 1.