Regulators also discussed scrapping the 10% virtual-asset management exemption and enforcing new rules immediately as industry seeks clearer guidance on licensing, self-custody and payments.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission said it will separate the Certified Virtual Asset Platform practitioner exam from its training course and lower assessment fees after discussions with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association, while regulators also reviewed wider policy changes affecting the city’s digital-asset sector. The association said the SFC has coordinated with the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute to split exams and courses for virtual-asset platform practitioners and reduce fees to match existing Paper 2 and Paper 3 charges. Officials including SFC Intermediaries Executive Director Ip Chi-hang and Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau Deputy Secretary Joseph Chan also discussed removing the previous 10% minimum exemption for virtual-asset asset management and making new rules effective immediately without a transition period. The developments add to industry concerns over how Hong Kong is extending virtual-asset oversight, including questions around self-custody, licensing boundaries, approval timelines, virtual-asset payments and possible future derivatives products.