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The annual report of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), released on June 27, outlines the agency's desire to protect investors from the risks associated with cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICO), Cointelegraph reported.
The document highlights that because emerging innovations have risks tied to them, the SFC will remain vigilant and will continue to monitor the market, stating it will step in when the situation calls for it. Hong Kong’s regulatory restriction is due to the increasing interest of investors in cryptocurrencies and the use of initial coin offerings by startups to fund their projects.
Other regions have already seen the effects of bogus startups using ICOs to lure investors in, only to take off with the money accumulated during the fundraising campaign. In the U.S., a court order has been sent out against a fraudulent company whose president used social media to endorse the startup’s ICO, claiming that investing in them is equivalent to investing in Intel or Google.
The SFC highlights in its new report that it took regulatory actions against several cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO issuers and released two statements warning investors about the potential risks associated with this kind of undertaking.
In February, the SFC sent out seven letters to crypto exchanges based in Hong Kong. The letter warned these companies not to involve themselves in cryptocurrency trading without a license as it is defined as a form of security according to the Securities and Futures Ordinance. The agency also sent out seven more notices to ICO issuers, with most of them complying to the SFC’s regulation while some opted to cease offering tokens to investors altogether.
Aside from investor protection, the report also contains information about the country’s regulatory sandbox that will enable companies to “conduct regulated activities utilizing financial technologies.” Moreover, the SFC announced it is cooperating with the Investor Education Center to disseminate information regarding the crypto market. It is also going to launch public campaigns to increase the public’s awareness of the risks associated with investing in ICOs and cryptocurrencies.
