CoinEx announces BitHK crypto platform for Hong Kong users

• BitHK will offer spot trading and looks to launch a P2P exchange for Hong Kong users.
• The exchange will submit an application for registration as a VASP with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on 1 June.
• Another exchange, Huobi HK is also offering spot trading to Hong Kong users and has submitted an application from the SFC.

CoinEx, a crypto exchange platform that’s been in operation since 2017, has today launched a new crypto trading platform for users in Hong Kong.

The new platform is called BitHK and is set to roll out several crypto services for CoinEx users in Hong Kong.

Exchanges to seek approval before offer services in Hong Kong

CoinEx’s launch of BitHK comes ahead of the effective date of the guidelines the Hong Kong regulators announced recently and which were set to allow registered cryptocurrency exchanges to offer crypto trading services to retail investors.

According to a press release CoinEx published on Monday, the platform will submit an application for approval as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). The exchange plans to submit the application to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on June 1.

“We will strictly follow the Code of Conduct for Cryptocurrency Exchanges recently released by the SFC and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022. We are dedicated to delivering compliant, fair, and professional services while safeguarding our investors’ assets. Our goal is to establish a secure and reliable crypto trading environment for Hong Kong users,” Haipo Yang, CEO of CoinEx, said in a statement.

BitHK users can access spot trading and crypto storage services, while CoinEx says it will soon introduce P2P trading and HKD transactions.

Huobi also announces Huobi HK 

Monday also another crypto platform Huobi HK announced its crypto services to Hong Kong users. In a tweeted statement, the platform said it would be offering crypto spot trading services to both retail and institutional clients. 

Huobi HK applied for Hong Kong’s VASP license on 29 May, 2023, according to the details shared via the platform’s Twitter account. This follows Hong Kong’s recent announcement that approved exchanges would be allowed to offer crypto trading to retail investors, with major coins Bitcoin and Ethereum among the first to be allowed.

In related news, Binance recently announced it would be transitioning all of its users in Japan to a new platform to be called Binance Japan. The process began on 26 May and will continue through the summer.