Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission official: A roadmap for the development of virtual assets will be announced this month

Odaily Odaily reports that Leaf Chi-hang, Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, expects that the virtual asset development roadmap will be announced within this month. The roadmap will not only outline the development principles, but also mention the areas that the SFC hopes to research with the market in the near future, as well as the areas that platform participants hope to optimize. The SFC held the first virtual asset advisory group meeting with representatives of licensed virtual asset trading platforms last week. As the chairman of the group, Leaf Chi-hang said that the future development direction of the market was discussed at the meeting. He pointed out that the market has actively applied for licenses in the first stage, but he believes that the operating model is more important, so that their business can develop sustainably. Currently, there are 9 licensed virtual asset trading platforms and applicants respectively. When asked whether the platforms still on the applicant list are expected to be licensed, Leaf Chi-hang said that the current progress is very good, and the market is increasingly clear about the SFC's licensing standards. He emphasized that there will be new licenses issued, but whether all of them will obtain licenses depends on whether they meet the requirements. In addition, Leaf Chi-hang said at the discussion session of the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association annual conference that the focus of the soon-to-be-announced virtual asset roadmap will not be on the content itself, but on the SFC's courage to show the principles to the market and the attitude for the market to consider. He also does not believe that there is a contradiction between market development and regulation, and believes that as a regulator, one needs to understand the market in order to do better regulation.