Hong Kong ramps up crypto business transparency after JPEX blowup

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has introduced new measures to enhance investors’ education following the JPEX debacle.

In a Sept. 25 statement, the financial regulator announced its intention to publish a comprehensive list of licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) on its website. This list will encompass licensed platforms, those in the application process, entities it has ordered to shut down, and those it has deemed suspicious.

According to the regulator, this comprehensive list would be communicated transparently and timely to alert investors about the businesses they should interact with.

Besides that, the commission intends to launch a fraud prevention publicity campaign that would educate the public on protecting themselves against fraud. Additionally, it plans to investigate and prosecute illegal platforms, vowing to strengthen its intelligence-gathering process on virtual assets-related businesses.

Lawmaker pushes for Web3 regulatory committee.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Ng revealed he has written the legislative council to establish a subcommittee focused on the emerging industry.

According to him, this committee will complement the recent regulatory reforms by discussing the development of Web3 and virtual assets and examining the loopholes in current regulations that allowed the implosion of JPEX.

Ng is a pro-crypto lawmaker who has consistently advocated for the industry in the Asian city. The lawmaker recently invited Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin to the region so that he could gain insights into Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency approach.

JPEX’s case update

Over the weekend, the South China Morning Post reported that the police have arrested 11 individuals connected to the JPEX case. According to the report, the authorities are actively seeking  Interpol assistance in their pursuit of the exchange’s leaders, and they have also successfully frozen some cryptocurrencies linked to the fraud.

In its statement, the SFC said it would regularly review the regulatory regime in Hong Kong and consider timely measures in light of new market developments. It added:

“The SFC will explore with the Police to set up a dedicated channel to share information on suspicious activities of and breaches by VATPs and to investigate the JPEX incident to bring the wrong-doers to justice.”

The implosion of the Hong Kong-based crypto exchange had raised questions about the city’s regulatory procedures. According to reports, the rug pull affected about 2,305 victims with about $178 million in losses.

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