Hong Kong will release the identities of companies that have submitted applications for retail crypto trading licenses in the near future. This license was introduced just recently. There is currently a great deal of confusion regarding JPEX.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared that they will be producing a list of licensed virtual trading platforms (VATPs), along with the number of shutting down VATPs and the number of VATPs deemed licensed as of June 1, 2024. There will also be included the number of applications they have received for VATPs as per public request.
In order to raise public awareness of the contentious VATPs operating in Hong Kong, SFC is conducting this exercise. The SFC list will help the general public avoid VATPs that are on their radar.
According to the Director of Licensing and Head of Fintech Unit, which is the mediator of SFC, Elizabeth Wong, the applicant’s list will provide the option for the general public to look closely into the facts stated by any platform of their choice in terms of applications for licenses. She further noted that, presently, four organizations are in the initial phase of forwarding applications for licensing. This is as per the local media house, RTHK.
The SFC took action in response to the SEC’s warning regarding crypto influencers and JPEX’s misrepresentation of facts on social media. The company is supposed to have put in an application for obtaining a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong, which was evidently far from the truth.
A short time ago, Hong Kong police raided twenty locations where JPEX conducts business and arrested nearly eleven employees. The mission’s name, tieguan, translates to “iron gate.” Concerned officials have contacted local telecom providers and instructed them to prevent JPEX from connecting to the internet.
In retaliation, JPEX issued a statement claiming that the authorities were unfairly victimizing the company. In a separate statement, the company informed its users in Hong Kong to quit making fresh deposits of assets and crypto assets on the platform.
In an official statement to the Block, the Chief Operating Officer of VDX, Donald Day, expressed his pleasure in understanding the fact that the Hong Kong authorities are, with all seriousness, clamping down on unregulated and fraudulent acts. He believes that JPEX is receiving the precise treatment that it merits.