The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is now tightening down the illegal cryptocurrency exchanges. SFC extended its coat of arms in its latest action touching upon the globally recognized MEXC exchange, by adding it to the warning platform.

One of the serious issues flagged by SFC is that MEXC is intentionally extending its outreach to Hong Kong investors which are not licensed to conduct the business in the region. 

An official from the financial watchdog highlighted the fact that under Hong Kong law, to the extent of offering virtual asset services, such as by owning and operating a crypto exchange is illegal along with promoting such services locally without getting a license.

According to this report, this action will be implemented as a consequence of any warning realted to Bybit, another crypto currency exchange. Currently, the list containing the outstanding number of platforms as many as 20 and not having any license has been given by SFC. The SFC is asking investors to exercise caution when choosing unauthorized exchange platforms, otherwise, they may not recover their investment if the trading venue becomes inactive.

The SFC, an organization that works to fight fraud, has been very proactive with regards to financial investment in the crypto space. They called public attention to the fake websites of the biggest Domestic and International exchanges in March. 

Moreover, on February 29 was deadline for the application of VATP licenses. Applications of unlicensed exchanges were required to be stopped by the end of the indicated date, or within three months if their application is denied.

Currently, only OSL Securities Limited and HashKey Holdings Limited have acquired licenses from the SFC that were issued in December 2020 and November 2022, respectively. This is a testament of the regulator’s commitment to licensing compliance in the expanding crypto market.

Also read: Ether.fi Launches ETHFI Token Airdrop With Community-Centric Adjustments

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