140 Companies Applying for Virtual Asset Licenses in Hong Kong

According to Jiemian News, Lily Z King, the COO of Cobo, stated that as of now, only two companies in Hong Kong have obtained the necessary license for virtual asset trading, including license number 9, with 140 companies currently applying. Lily revealed that the cost of obtaining a license and operating in compliance is very expensive, "the annual operating cost may be around 20 million Hong Kong dollars, and the initial cost may be between 30 million and 40 million Hong Kong dollars."

If we refer to foreign situations, when Japan first issued licenses, more than 100 companies applied, but only 20 of them obtained licenses, and only about 4 to 5 companies continued to operate.

Lily also stated that from the perspective of the local market in Hong Kong, the purpose of applying for a license is not for economic returns, but for overall strategic reasons. "An interesting phenomenon is that among the applicants, in addition to securities exchanges or agencies, there are also many traditional financial companies that want to cross over, including some overseas subsidiaries of mainland companies." Lily believes that "Hong Kong's opening of the Web3 retail market demonstrates a posture of embracing the entire Web3 industry. Therefore, it is not important how many institutions apply for and obtain licenses, but rather the recognition of Hong Kong's attitude by everyone."

In addition, Hu Zhenbang, the CFO of BC Technology, stated: "If Hong Kong mainly covers the Asia-Pacific market, I estimate that only 4 to 5 companies will obtain licenses." Hu Zhenbang emphasized that this does not mean that financial institutions engaged in virtual assets are few, but rather they are more likely to cooperate with licensed institutions. Banks and securities firms can first apply to the Securities and Futures Commission, extend their service scope from stocks and bonds to digital assets, and then choose to cooperate with a licensed institution.

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