Independent Reserve, an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange, is looking for opportunities to establish itself in Hong Kong as the city continues to strive to become a cryptocurrency hub.
Scheduled to take effect in June, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a proposed licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges on February 20 in line with its ambitions to become Asia's next crypto hub.
Independent Reserve co-founder and CEO Adrian Przelozny told Cointelegraph that the “friendly” licensing regime makes Hong Kong a worthy destination to establish a new basesomething his firm is now seriously considering.
“Right now it looks very interesting [...] The recent announcement by Hong Kong regulators makes Hong Kong look like a friendly jurisdiction."
“We see Hong Kong as a good opportunity for Independent Reserve and we are always looking for new areas in Asia where we can expand our business,” he added.
The potential movement would follow the likes of your Huobi peers and OKX.
Under the new licensing regime, Hong Kong-based crypto companies will have to comply with a series of measures related to safe custody of assets, anti-money laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-funding countermeasures. of terrorism. along with disclosure of conflicts of interest and audits.
Przelozny said his team will visit Hong Kong next week to meet with banks, regulators, lawyers and compliance experts to determine whether expansion is appropriate.
Commenting on the region's political relationship with China, Przelozny believes that China is testing what a more relaxed cryptocurrency regime looks like in Hong Kong.
If successful, he thinks China can do the same:
“The Chinese government is using Hong Kong as a test network to experiment with a more flexible cryptocurrency regime to see what impact it has on the business landscape there. If they see it as a positive, then I think there's a chance they'll roll it out across China and loosen existing restrictions."
Similar comments were made by Tron CEO Justin Sun in December. interview in Bloomberg.
He is of the opinion that China is using Hong Kong as a "test base" so that it can make a final decision on where its political stance lies.
Related: Hong Kong's Crypto Ambition Gets a Subtle Nod From Beijing: Report
However, Przelozny is cautious, as it can only represent a "transient experiment" that could be reversed in the future.
If Independent Reserve is happy with the regulatory landscape, Przelozny said the last checkbox to check will be how expensive it is to open a store there and what he thinks the return on investment from doing so will be.
Independent Reserve operates as a licensed virtual asset service provider in Singapore.
It also recently launched Bitcoin.com.au after purchasing the domain name for $2 million ($3 million AUD).
Independent Reserve, a long-standing Australian cryptocurrency exchange, has bought https://t.co/caP4K5Kwnn.https://t.co/ococz49Hwe pic.twitter.com/lRHaPi5vhe
— Independent Reserve (@indepreserve) March 23, 2023
More than 80 cryptocurrency companies in mainland China and elsewhere have expressed interest in establishing a presence in Hong Kong lately, according to a March 20 statement from Christian Hui, the Treasury and Financial Services Secretary.
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