As one of the top digital currency trading platforms, OKX revealed Monday that it had terminated its VASP license application in HK.
OKX pulled the license application following what the crypto exchange said was an assessment of its business model and market conditions as part of internal planning and decision-making, known as “careful consideration” of its operations, without further elaboration. Similarly, seven other exchanges have withdrawn from the application form and have not stated why.
OKX Joins the Withdrawal Group
Aggression withdrawals are laid down as the clock ticks for cryptographic and virtual exchanges to be granted operating licenses in Hong Kong.
OKX, one of the most respectable platforms, applied for a VASP license with the SFC of Hong Kong on November 16. But it was only today that the SFC’s website specifically announced the withdrawal of OKX to carry on as a digital asset exchange platform.
Other exchanges, such as OKX, have also withdrawn from the licensing process. Other major platforms that have withdrawn their SFC application include IBTCEX, QuanXLab, and Huobi HK between May 13 and May 14, 2024, as indicated by CryptoMode. This has greatly lowered the number of existing exchanges still in the application process to only seven for the entire year.
Some of them are: The reasons for these withdrawals have not been provided by the SFC, thus, the crypto community has had to question the causes of these actions.
It has been very specific, with unlicensed platforms given until the 31st of May to halt shop in Hong Kong. This is probably the explanation for the high withdrawal rates in recent weeks, considering that the exchanges will probably cost a lot of money and go through a complex process of getting the required approvals before the deadline.
Despite the licensing dynamics, sources indicate that the SFC is also in discussions with the providers of Ethereum ETFs about including Ethereum staking services. This development could reverberate other cryptocurrency-related activities in Hong Kong or blockchain industries.
Similarly, the United States SEC has long since given the green light to Ethereum Spot ETFs, resulting in a skyrocket in the prices of ETH, which, for some time, reached the $3 mark. 7K within the following few weeks and days to the news.
Looking at the future of the Hong Kong exchange licensing market in the upcoming weeks and months, it remains to be seen how the tables will turn and which platforms will stay or come under pressure.
