Hong Kong to Keep One-Year Grace Period for Crypto Exchanges Despite Recent Scandals

Despite recent cryptocurrency scandals in Hong Kong, the one-year grace period for unregistered exchanges will remain in place for the time being. Julia Leung, Hong Kong's Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, stated that even if the grace period ends, fraud will still occur. Crypto exchanges operating in Hong Kong must apply for a Virtual Asset Service Provider license by June 2024 or face deregistration, but unregistered exchanges can still operate during the transition period. Recent scandals include the collapse of unlicensed exchange JPEX and the scamming of 131 residents by unlicensed exchange Hounax.