CMB International Securities (CMBI), the brokerage arm of China Merchants Bank, has received a virtual asset licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reports.
According to this report, CMBI got the licence on Monday. With it, it has become the first mainland broker to offer cryptocurrency trading services in the special administrative region.
Moreover, CMBI can now offer trading, custody, and advisory services. Furthermore, the licence allows it to provide counsel on investment strategies, risk management, and regulatory compliance, the report says.
Joshua Chu, a lawyer and co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, is quoted as saying that “by securing this licence, CMBI gains regulated access to Hong Kong’s dynamic crypto market.” That said, the company “must operate within strict boundaries that prevent direct mainland participation, reflecting the delicate balance of innovation and legal constraint.”
Meanwhile, the report highlighted increased interest by mainland brokers with international operations and aim to bring in global investors to gain virtual asset licences in Hong Kong.
Per the SCMP, authorised mainland brokers can create omnibus accounts on Hong Kong’s eleven licensed crypto trading platforms. These are consolidated accounts where an intermediary, such as a brokerage firm or custodian bank, joins the assets of multiple clients into a single account. This allows users to access major coins and stablecoins.
“Striving to Build Hong Kong into Premier Global Hub”
There are several key factors that have merged to contribute to Hong Kong’s growing presence as a digital asset hub on the global stage.
One is certainly the increasing adoption of these assets by traditional financial (TradFi) institutions. Additionally, the crypto sector is becoming mainstream and has been merging with the related tech and TradFi industries.
Moreover, over the past few years, Hong Kong has been actively working on advancing the virtual asset plans, molding itself into a crypto hub.
Notably, mainland China supports these efforts. But – a big but – the services which CMBI can now offer in Hong Kong still remain forbidden on the mainland.
Moreover, in late June, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the SFC launched a joint public consultation on the legislative proposals for establishing licensing regimes for digital asset dealing and custodian service providers. It will last until 29 August.
Secretary for FSTB Christopher Hui said the Government is “striving to build Hong Kong into a premier global hub” for digital assets.
Meanwhile, the city’s novel stablecoin ordinance will take effect on 1 August, when the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) begins accepting formal applications. The government says it is processing license inquiries from more than 40 companies.
Economist Hong Hao, a managing partner at Lotus Asset Management, predicted that the market value of stablecoins could surpass $1 trillion in the near term. “Stablecoins issued in Hong Kong may be more stable than those in the U.S.,” Hong argued, pointing to the city’s regulatory clarity and resource base.
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