Thread by @ben_el_baz

#HongKong, one of Asia’s biggest international financial centers, *today* just formally approved retail trading of #crypto assets. Effective 1 June 2023.

Huge deal for #Web3 economy in Asia + #币圈

11 key points from the conclusion paper drop from the SFC today:

https://twitter.com/mrjasonchoi/status/1633244414968750080

1/ Hong Kong will allow retail traders to trade crypto (was resticted to professional/accredited investors only before)

2/ Onboarding requirements still require retail users to fill out a risk tolerance assessment test

3/ Utility tokens required to have 12-months of track record before listing (no primary offerings)

4/ Security tokens will not be available to retail traders, as HKEX has a legal monopoly on trading of equities in Hong Kong

5/ Stablecoins not allowable to be traded by retail users under HKMA stablecoin policy gets finalized

6/ SFC still requires that listed tokens be included in at least 2 “acceptable indices” at a minimum

7/ Trading platforms can’t do giveaways but there’s an exception for giving away discounts of fees

8/ Custody of assets should be fully financially covered by trading platforms, but only 50% of assets in cold storage need to be insured. Can have self-coverage but need to hold reserve assets in same assets as client.

9/ Derivatives still not formally approved for retail or institutions; will be evaluated later

10/ Earning, lending/borrowing products not allowed

11/ Full travel rule compliance required