Cryptocurrency companies could relocate their jurisdiction from the United States to Hong Kong amid rising scrutiny from American regulators. The The Wall Street Journal reported Kaiko chief Ambre Soubiran said.
“Today, the United States is tougher on cryptocurrencies than ever, and Hong Kong’s regulation appears more favorable, clearly tilting the center of gravity of crypto asset investment and trading in its direction. We want to be where our clients are,” she said.
According to Soubiran, Kaiko plans to set up a team in Hong Kong, including access to Chinese institutional investors.
Crypto exchange Bybit also intends to organise part of its operations in the city-state. According to WSJ, more than 20 industry companies told the government about plans to open branches in Hong Kong, and another 80 expressed interest in doing so.
In February Kraken settled the charges, brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The trading platform agreed to wind down its staking program and pay $30 million in penalties.
In March, the American bitcoin exchange Coinbase received a notice from the SEC regarding an investigation into its listing procedure on the platform and its products — Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Wallet and the staking service Coinbase Earn.
At the end of the month the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. The agency contends that the platform violated derivatives trading rules by operating without proper registration.
Earlier, the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex announced the winding down of its activities in the United States due to “regulatory uncertainty”.
In October 2022, the Hong Kong Bureau of Financial Services and the Treasury published a statement on the relaxation of crypto restrictions and a readiness to cooperate with virtual asset service providers.
In January 2023, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the jurisdiction was ready to welcome cryptocurrency companies from around the world. He noted that authorities had recently completed work on the licensing regime for the industry.