Hong Kong Doubles Down on Crypto Regulation With Staff Hires

The securities regulator wants to prosecute unit for marketplace surveillance and enforcement investigations.

Feb 4, 2025, 1:04 p.m. UTC

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is looking to summation its headcount, with much than fractional the added roles dedicated to regulating crypto, according to a two-year fund program presented to the Legislative Council, the region's legislative assemblage known arsenic Legco.

Despite freezing its headcount successful 3 of the 5 fiscal years since 2020, it is looking to adhd different 15 people, 8 of whom volition beryllium dedicated to crypto arsenic the regulator furthers its committedness to modulate the industry.

"Eight of the projected caller headcount is for enhancing the staffing enactment for virtual plus regulatory regimes, marketplace surveillance and enforcement investigations," the fund presented connected Monday said.

The maturation comes arsenic Hong Kong's medication faces a fund shortage that is forecast to scope $HK100 cardinal ($13 million) this twelvemonth and is apt to denote fund cuts aboriginal this month, the South China Morning Post reported.

In June 2023, Hong Kong initiated a caller licensing regime for crypto companies. Last twelvemonth it said it would besides license stablecoin providers. The country's stablecoin measure is inactive being discussed.

Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is simply a CoinDesk regulatory newsman based successful the UK. Previously, Shumba interned astatine Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured successful Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner. Shumba studied politics, doctrine and economics arsenic a combined grade astatine the University of East Anglia earlier doing a postgraduate grade successful multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate grade she had an award-winning vigor amusement connected making a difference. She does not presently clasp worth successful immoderate integer currencies oregon projects.