On February 20, HTX applied for a cryptocurrency license for its Hong Kong local office, intending to run HBGL Hong Kong Limited there. The cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi, has added itself to the list of applicants requesting authorization to begin operating in Hong Kong.On the website of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), HTX states that it is seeking a license for a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) for Huobi HK, a local subsidiary run by HBGL Hong Kong Limited. Thus, after the announcement of a new regulatory framework by the local government in late 2022, Huobi emerged as the most recent cryptocurrency startup to apply for a VATP license in Hong Kong.
The application from HTX was submitted not long after Bybit, another cryptocurrency exchange, requested a license to operate in Hong Kong from the SFC. The SFC has only licensed two exchanges in Hong Kong thus far, despite the increased demand from cryptocurrency startups. In December 2020 and November 2022, respectively, OSL and HashKey Exchange obtained licenses.
On the other hand, there have been complaints made about how successful Hong Kong's crypto strategy is. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's vice president, Wang Yang, expressed reservations about the current licensing system, calling it onerous and ineffective. To draw attention to the difficulties experienced by licensed exchanges like OSL, which have sustained large losses since receiving permission to operate in the area, he also created the phrase "Licensed to Be Killed."