Hong Kong Regulator Pushes Banks to Welcome Crypto Firms, FT Says

As regulatory hostility in the United States increases, cryptocurrency services are being forced to find alternative jurisdictions. Hong Kong is attempting to be more attractive for crypto-centric platforms than ever before.

Hong Kong might be pushing banks to work with crypto

Hong Kong's financial watchdogs might be pressuring credit organizations, including blue-chip ones — HSBC and Standard Chartered — to be more friendly toward cryptocurrency-focused products, Financial Times said in a recent article.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said due diligence should not 'create undue burden' on potential customers https://t.co/PPNO2dYnaC pic.twitter.com/nj6UbdDj4h

— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) June 15, 2023

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in April-June, took a number of actions to increase the attractiveness of the country for various types of crypto products.

Namely, it issued a letter about the necessity of working with cryptocurrency platforms and asked the largest players about their attitude toward such services.

As stated by the Financial Times, the regulators underscored that banking and credit organizations should change the way they treat cryptocurrency-related clients:

HKMA encouraged the banks to not be afraid. There is resistance from a conventional banking mindset. We are seeing some resistance from senior executives at traditional banks.

Hong Kong was mentioned by analysts as among the most obvious jurisdictions for projects under pressure in the U.S.

Yet another exodus of crypto entrepreneurs?

As covered by U.Today previously, U.S. regulators started yet another attack on centralized cryptocurrency services. The two largest exchanges, Coinbase and Binance, received notifications from the SEC.

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Allegedly, they offered unregistered securities to U.S. citizens. The SEC attached this label to almost all large altcoins.

As such, the industry might yet again see the forced "exodus" of cryptocurrency services — just like miners did in 2021 after similar attacks in China.