Insider informations revealed that the Hong Kong authorities have no plans to give a licence to any offshore crypto exchange, so Bybit decided to quit Hong Kong market.
Bybit is a well-known cryptocurrency exchange with an easy-to-use platform and advanced trading options. It allows spot and derivatives trading, supports many cryptocurrencies, and offers high liquidity and quick transactions. Bybit is also praised for its strong security and good customer support.
On 30 May 2024, Bybit withdrew its application for a virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
Following this decision, Bybit temporarily stopped all Crypto products and services on its Hong Kong platform, except for customer withdrawals. And also requested customers to follow the given instructions to withdraw their remaining Crypto funds.
Before Bybit, top crypto exchanges Binance, OKX, Gate, & HTX had already withdrawn their crypto licence applications from the Hong Kong SFC body.
Market rumours are suggesting that Hong Kong might halt the issuance of licences to offshore exchanges.
At present, only two Chinese crypto firms Hash Blockchain Limited (HashKey exchange) & OSL Digital Securities Limited (OSL Exchange) are registered crypto companies in the Hong Kong jurisdiction.
Hong Kong & Crypto crimes
Recently a report by the Hong Kong police noted that crypto scams surged by 90% between 2022 and 2023.
In particular, the number of virtual asset crimes rose sharply from 2,336 in 2022 to over 3,415 in 2023, involving a total of $550 million.
Bybit’s employees resign
Yesterday, we reported that several employees of the Bybit crypto exchange voluntarily resigned due to their failure to properly manage the $Not token airdrop distribution on May 16, 2024.
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