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Hong Kong Doubles Down on Crypto Regulation With Staff Hires

The securities regulator wants to hire staff for market surveillance and enforcement investigations.

Hong Kong (Ryan Mac / Unsplash)
Hong Kong's SFC Looks to bolster crypto work (Ryan Mac / Unsplash)

What to know:

  • Hong Kong's SFC wants to add eight roles to support its crypto regulation regimes.
  • Hong Kong started licensing crypto firms in 2023 and is working toward a stablecoins regime.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is looking to increase its headcount, with more than half the added roles dedicated to regulating crypto, according to a two-year budget plan presented to the Legislative Council, the region's legislative body known as Legco.

Despite freezing its headcount in three of the five financial years since 2020, it is looking to add another 15 people, eight of whom will be dedicated to crypto as the regulator furthers its commitment to regulate the industry.

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"Eight of the proposed new headcount is for enhancing the staffing support for virtual asset regulatory regimes, market surveillance and enforcement investigations," the budget presented on Monday said.

The growth comes as Hong Kong's administration faces a budget deficit that is forecast to reach $HK100 million ($13 million) this year and is likely to announce budget cuts later this month, the South China Morning Post reported.

In June 2023, Hong Kong initiated a new licensing regime for crypto companies. Last year it said it would also license stablecoin providers. The country's stablecoin bill is still being discussed.

Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner.

Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

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