Hong Kong could quickly bolster its policing of the cryptocurrency sphere to higher conform with worldwide anti-money-laundering norms, Financial Secretary Paul Chan declared in his annual cash in hand speech Wednesday.
Promising that "detailed proposals" will come later this yr, Chan declared new laws may goal digital plus service suppliers, or VASPs, the catchall period used by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its newest "Travel Rule" steerage.
New laws may increase the warmth on crypto exchanges, OTC desks and brokers in Hong Kong, a world crypto hub. Such entities are already monitored by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which in December advisable that VASPs keep wakeful in self-regulation their clients' goings-on.
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"[Authorized institutions] should keep wise of international and local developments to maintain an up-to-date understanding of risks, and apply a risk-based approach that supports responsible business innovation too as effective ML/TF risk management," HKMA's AML enforcer, Carmen Chu, declared on the time.
The prospect of government-mandated laws comes months after the FATF, the worldwide AML standards-setting watchdog, rated Hong Kong "largely compliant" with its suggestions round rising applied sciences like cryptocurrency. But Hong Kong desires to additive construct out its anti-business crimes framework, Chan's speech exhibits.
Countries are clamor to get forward of FATF's crypto pointers. Some newcomers, akin to Paraguay, have taken their first stairs in regulation VASPs, whereas others have arrange worldwide partnerships to watch cryptocurrency dealings.
At the identical time, crypto companies themselves are angling to adjust to the Travel Rule, which mandates that cryptocurrency exchanges and others share dealing info above sure thresholds. They have till June 2020 to work it out.
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