Hong Kong has reached a milestone in its virtual asset sector as it is now home to 10 licensed crypto trading platforms with the latest addition, Bullish, securing approval from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Tuesday.
Liu Dehao, senior vice president and global sales head at Bullish, pointed to the strategic importance of Hong Kong in an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal. He said that the company already has over 100 employees in the city and plans to focus on institutional clients following the approval.
Bullish’s Deep-Pocketed Investors Fuel Its Crypto Market Ambitions
Bullish, headquartered in Gibraltar, is a subsidiary of blockchain software firm Block.one. It enjoys strong backing from high-profile investors, including Peter Thiel’s Thiel Capital and Founders Fund, British hedge fund manager Alan Howard, US hedge fund manager Louis Bacon, Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li and German investor Christian Angermayer’s Apeiron Investment Group.
Galaxy Digital and Japan’s Nomura have also thrown their support behind the company.
The exchange, led by former New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley, made headlines in Nov. 2023 with its acquisition of CoinDesk for about $75m. The all-cash deal underscored Bullish’s ambition to strengthen its presence in the crypto industry, leveraging CoinDesk’s influence in digital asset media.
SFC Accelerates Virtual Asset Licensing, Setting Stage for Market Growth
Hong Kong’s regulatory push for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) has gained significant traction over the past year. Until recently, only two platforms, OSL and HashKey, held full SFC licenses, with their approvals dating back to 2020 and 2023, respectively.
The shift began in late 2024 when the SFC accelerated its licensing efforts, approving four additional platforms—Accumulus GBA Technology, DFX Labs, Hong Kong Digital Asset EX, and Thousand Whales Technology (BVI)—in December.
SFC CEO Julia Leung had indicated in Oct. 2024 that additional approvals were on the horizon, a forecast that has since materialized. The regulatory body’s commitment to expanding licensed exchanges while maintaining stringent oversight signals a new phase of growth for Hong Kong’s digital asset market.
Currently, eight more crypto trading platforms, including Crypto.com, Matrixport and WhaleFin, are in the application stage, awaiting SFC approval.
As Hong Kong continues to position itself as a hub for regulated digital asset trading, the number of licensed platforms is expected to rise further in the coming months.
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