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Finance
Huobi Hong Kong Withdraws License Application for the Second Time
HBGL Hong Kong Limited, the entity behind Huobi Hong Kong, first withdrew and then re-submitted its application for a Hong Kong VATP license in February.
Updated May 15, 2024, 7:17 p.m. Published May 15, 2024, 10:18 a.m.
- Huobi Hong Kong has withdrawn its license for a second time.
- Neither Hong Kong's market regulator nor Huobi have commented on the withdrawal.
The Hong Kong-based subsidiary of HTX has once again withdrawn its application for a virtual asset trading license in the country, according to a notice on the Securities and Futures Commission’s website.
The South China Morning Post first reported that Houbi Hong Kong had withdrawn its license.
An email to a spokesperson for Huobi Hong Kong, which is operated by HBGL Hong Kong Limited, had not been returned by press time.
Hong Kong’s SFC posted a notice on its website stating that platforms that fail to submit a license application must shut down by May 31. The SFC did not specify why the application was withdrawn.
Many major crypto exchanges, including OKX, Crypto.com, and Bullish, are currently having their licenses reviewed by the SFC. Bullish owns CoinDesk.
In June 2023, HTX's Justin Sun said that Huobi Hong Kong would have a license in 6-12 months.
HTX maintains that Huobi Hong Kong is a wholly separate entity.
Sam Reynolds
Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Taipei. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX's collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.
