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Cryptocurrency exchanges, which have recently come under severe scrutiny around the world, may find widespread acceptance in Hong Kong, a member of the Chinese territory’s Legislative Council remarked on Twitter on Saturday.
Johnny Ng welcomed Coinbase and other cryptocurrency exchanges to set up shop in Hong Kong, even hinting at future stock listing chances.
“I hereby extend an invitation to all global virtual asset trading operators, including Coinbase, to visit Hong Kong for the application of official trading platforms and future development plans,” the legislator stated. “Please feel free to approach me, and I will gladly assist you.”
The suggestion comes only days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission launched litigation against two prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. The crackdown is the latest in a series of harsh measures taken by the SEC, which has levied fines and other penalties against crypto-lending firms in the aftermath of the collapse of FTX, one of the major crypto exchanges, in November last year.
Nigeria has become the latest country to ban Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, claiming that its operations in the country were illegal.
Binance stated earlier this month that it would cease operations in Canada, citing a new set of regulations governing the crypto business as complicating its operations in the country.
In contrast to the global cautiousness concerning digital currencies, Hong Kong has taken a more enthusiastic position. Despite the industry crisis, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan indicated earlier this year that the territory would be open to cooperate with crypto and fintech businesses in 2023.
Since then, the region’s authorities have enacted additional legislation and compliance requirements in order to stimulate a significant expansion of the bitcoin industry.