Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission joined global watchdogs in warning Binance, underlining that the firm was not licensed to conduct regulated activities in the city.
«[N]o entity in the Binance group is licensed or registered to conduct 'regulated activities' in Hong Kong,» according to the SFC in a statement on Friday.
The SFC said that stock tokens were likely to be securities under Hong Kong rules which would require the regulator’s authorization before being offered to the public.
Finance said earlier on Friday that it would stop selling such products.
«Commitment to Partner»
The SFC is the latest to demonstrate scrutiny over crypto giant Binance after warnings issued by other regulators in Italy, Thailand, Japan, Germany, U.S., and Singapore.
Despite the pressure, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao reiterated the firm’s «commitment to partner with regulators» in a recent blog post highlighting various enhancements such as an expanded compliance team, more compliance partnership and localization of operations.
«Binance has grown very quickly and we haven’t always got everything exactly right, but we are learning and improving every day,» Zhao said. «We humbly welcome more constructive guidance to help us to grow better.»
