Xu Zhengyu: Submit a bill to the Legislative Council as soon as possible on the over-the-counter virtual asset trading licensing system

Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Hui Ching-yu responded in writing to members that the Securities and Futures Commission strengthened information dissemination in September last year and published a variety of information on virtual asset trading platforms, including the "List of Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms" to provide the public with Clear, transparent and timely information. As of February 14 this year, there were 14 trading platforms listed on the list. In the past three years (2021 to 2023), the overall number of crimes involving virtual assets was 1,397, 2,336 and 3,415 cases, involving amounts of 824 million, 1.704 billion and 4.398 billion yuan. As for the number of people arrested and prosecuted, the police will only consolidate the relevant figures for specific cases based on individual circumstances. For example, in the JPEX case, the police arrested a total of 70 people as of yesterday (20th), and no one has been charged yet. In addition, as of February 2 this year, the SFC and the Police have exchanged intelligence on more than 100 cases of virtual asset trading platforms or virtual asset-related activities. The SFC and the Police will decide whether it is necessary to establish a special investigation into complaints about individual trading platforms and activities based on a basket of factors, including whether there is a connection with Hong Kong, whether there is a violation of relevant laws, the number of people involved and the amount involved, etc. In order to further improve the regulatory framework, the Treasury Bureau launched a public consultation on the legislative proposal to establish a licensing system for virtual asset over-the-counter trading service providers on February 8 this year. The consultation period will last until April 12. In addition, the Treasury Department and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority jointly launched a public consultation on the supervision of stable currency issuers in December last year, and the consultation period ended on February 29 this year. Depending on the results of the consultation and the progress of the preparatory work, the government will submit a bill on the above-mentioned licensing system to the Legislative Council as soon as possible. (Zhitong Finance)