Interactive Brokers Hong Kong licensed in Hong Kong for retail digital asset buying and selling

The brokerage agency Interactive Brokers Hong Kong has been licensed in Hong Kong for digital asset buying and selling by retail shoppers, in line with a post on LinkedIn by the Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Interactive Brokers, David Friedland.

The put up mentioned the buying and selling of digital belongings is at present in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), with extra data on the licensing quickly to be obtainable within the official announcement.

Cointelegraph contacted Interactive Brokers for extra data and feedback on the event, however has not but acquired a reply.

This announcement comes within the warmth of a crypto industry build-up in Hong Kong. The area has more and more grow to be a hotspot for crypto-related actions, with corporations flocking to obtain native licensing. 

Again in August of this yr, Hashkey was the first crypto exchange in Hong Kong to obtain a particular license to supply crypto belongings to retail buyers.

Associated: Owner of Hong Kong crypto exchange OSL secures $90M investment

In November, the Swiss crypto financial institution SEBA acquired a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Fee (SFC), permitting it to offer various crypto-related services to shoppers within the area.

Nevertheless, the Hong Kong crypto scene was additionally hit with a scandal in September, which concerned the unlicensed crypto change JPEX allegedly scamming investors out of almost $165 million. 

A month after this, regulators in Hong Kong introduced updates to its crypto policies “in mild of the newest market developments and inquiries from the business.” The up to date coverage states that sure digital forex choices will solely be obtainable to skilled buyers.

Furthermore, previous to dealing with transactions, the crypto intermediaries ought to “assess whether or not shoppers have information of investing in digital belongings.”

In a current survey by the Investor and Monetary Schooling Council (IFEC) of Hong Kong, it emerged that solely 47% of retail investors in Hong Kong are conscious of native digital asset rules. 

Journal: HTX hacked again for $30M, 100K Koreans test CBDC, Binance 2.0: Asia Express