Hong Kong to local banks: play nice with crypto firms

Hey Noobs

The thing is 

Crypto has come to stay

It’s without a doubt that soon every enterprise will have no choice but to hop on it

It’s only a matter of time💡

What brought about this statement was when British Banks stopped a crypto transaction to crypto Exchanges

That’s a backward move for the crypto space!

Read below 

Regulators in Hong Kong are urging banks to provide much-needed services to crypto companies as part of a multi-faceted push to establish the city as an industry hub.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it expects that “regulated virtual asset service providers (VASPs) will be able to successfully apply for a bank account through a reasonable process,” in a blog post published April 27 and signed by Arthur Yuen, the watchdog’s deputy chief executive.

In a circular sent later the same day, the HKMA said banks should support licensed crypto firmswith “their legitimate need for bank accounts,” according to a Bloomberg report.  

The updates come after Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission signalled yesterday that it would publish guidelines on its licensing regime for crypto exchanges in May.

It’s all part of a push to establish Hong Kong as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, even as other regulators in other major financial hubs crack down on the sector. In the U.S., authorities have been piling pressure on the crypto industry — in part by shuttering lenders, such as Signature Bank and Silvergate Banks, that had worked closely with startups in the space.  While in Europe, the lobby group CryptoUK wrote to the government last month to complain about British banks blocking transfers to crypto exchanges.