Former Chairman of the Hong Kong Computer Industry Association: High costs lead to international virtual asset service platforms withdrawing their license applications

The transition period for the issuance of licenses for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in Hong Kong will end at the end of this month. The Securities and Futures Commission will decide whether existing service providers can continue to operate after June. Recently, several platforms have withdrawn their applications for Hong Kong licenses. Xu Jiansheng, former chairman of the Hong Kong Computer Industry Association, believes that the cost of operating a trading platform in Hong Kong is relatively high, such as license fees and hiring responsible personnel. The transactions of existing platforms in Hong Kong have not increased significantly, and the liquidity is not as good as that of overseas platforms, which has failed to attract overseas customers. In addition, the market may not be able to accommodate many license applicants. Large international platforms have mature overseas businesses, or withdraw their applications due to profitability issues in the local market. (Ming Pao)