Hong Kong Chief Executive Expresses Willingness to Cooperate on Granting More Powers to Regulate Crypto Exchanges: Report

cryptonews.com:

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee, has responded to the recent investigation into the unlicensed virtual-asset trading platform Hounax.

On November 27, Chief Executive John Lee addressed the recent virtual platform supervision fraud and emphasized the importance of government supervision to protect investors and crack down on unlicensed platforms. According to a local news blog, he expressed a willingness to cooperate with regulators and grant additional powers if needed to crack down on unlicensed crypto exchanges.

He said,

“If it is necessary to provide power to regulatory agencies, the government will actively cooperate.”

His comments highlight the need for government supervision to protect investors and combat unlicensed platforms in the crypto space, as the recent Hounax fraud case follows a similar incident involving JPEX, a crypto exchange. The JPEX exchange scandal received over 2,000 complaints and resulted in approximately $180 million in losses. A total of 66 individuals have been arrested in connection with the JPEX scandal. In response to these events, local regulators in Hong Kong are strengthening crypto regulations to prevent future industry catastrophes.

However, regulators have said the country’s one-year grace period for crypto exchanges won’t change. Lee urged investors to use licensed trading platforms for virtual asset transactions to safeguard their interests.

“The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission specifically reminds investors that all entities on the list of applicants for virtual asset trading platforms have not been licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and may not comply with the requirements of the Hong Kong Securities and