CMB International Securities (CMBI), the brokerage arm of China Merchants Bank, has received a virtual asset licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reports.
According to this report, CMBI got the licence on Monday. With it, it has become the first mainland broker to offer cryptocurrency trading services in the special administrative region.
One is certainly the increasing adoption of these assets by traditional financial (TradFi) institutions. Additionally, the crypto sector is becoming mainstream and has been merging with the related tech and TradFi industries. Moreover, over the past few years, Hong Kong has been actively working on advancing the virtual asset plans, molding itself into a crypto hub.
There are several key factors that have merged to contribute to Hong Kong’s growing presence as a digital asset hub on the global stage.
Meanwhile, the city’s novel stablecoin ordinance will take effect on 1 August, when the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) begins accepting formal applications. The government says it is processing license inquiries from more than 40 companies.
Moreover, in late June, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the SFC launched a joint public consultation on the legislative proposals for establishing licensing regimes for digital asset dealing and custodian service providers. It will last until 29 August.