Hong Kong Regulator Admits to Pressuring Major Global Banks to Onboard Crypto Exchanges As Clients: Report

A Hong Kong regulatory agency is reportedly admitting to pushing global banks operating in its jurisdiction toward accepting crypto exchange platforms as clients.

According to a new report by Reuters, The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the body that regulates banks in the region, says that it had asked major financial institutions to “try and meet the business needs of licensed crypto exchanges.”

Blue-chip institutions HKMA had asked to onboard crypto exchanges include UK-based lenders HSBC and Standard Chartered, and the Bank of China, a Chinese state-owned bank.

Last month, the HKMA asked the trio of banks why they were not accepting crypto exchange platforms as clients. Furthermore, in a letter sent to the banks on April 27, the HKMA said that the lenders should not “create an undue burden for those setting up an office in Hong Kong,” according to the report.

Hong Kong’s efforts to establish itself as a global hub for digital assets come at a time when the US is cracking down on crypto exchange platforms.

Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, the two biggest crypto exchanges by volume globally, for allegedly violating securities laws.

The SEC deemed numerous crypto assets as securities, including Binance’s native token BNB, thus accusing the crypto exchanges of selling unregistered securities.

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Featured Image: Shutterstock/tunnelmotions/Vladimir Sazonov