Industry insiders: Factors such as high compliance costs and low local market attractiveness have led many platforms to withdraw their applications for Hong Kong VASP licenses

Odaily Odaily News According to Ming Pao, the licensing transition period for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in Hong Kong will end at the end of this month, and the SFC will decide whether existing service providers can continue to operate. Recently, many platforms including OKX and VAEX have withdrawn their license applications due to the high compliance costs in Hong Kong and the low attractiveness of the local market. Industry insiders believe that the platform liquidity and trading currencies in Hong Kong are not as good as those overseas, and the stricter regulatory conditions are the reasons for the platform to withdraw its license application. Currently, only two platforms have been licensed by the SFC, and 18 are in the process of applying. Industry insiders suggest strengthening the tokenization of virtual assets in real-world applications to increase market acceptance and practical use.