Hong Kong’s financial regulator, the Securities Futures Commission (SFC), says it expects to issue more licenses to cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset firms operating in the region by the end of the year. SFC Director-General Julia Leung said she expects “progress” in issuing licenses to 11 currently operating virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) on the regulator’s list of potential licensees, according to an Oct. 6 report by local media outlet HK01. Leung also said the commission has completed the first round of “on-the-spot” checks for crypto firms and said all VATPs that comply with its licensing model can expect to have their applications approved. She added that licenses will be issued in “batches” going forward to make crypto exchanges more compliant with regulations. Leung’s comments come after the SFC published its 2024-2026 roadmap on October 6. The roadmap includes plans to improve regulation of crypto platforms, promote real-world asset tokenization (RWA), and scrutinize blockchain technologies more closely.
At present, there are only 16 companies awaiting decisions on their VATP license applications. Eleven of these are already operating as “deemed to be licensed,” although the SFC does not recommend traders do business with them.
Meanwhile, according to a report from MatrixPort, global cryptocurrency adoption is approaching a major milestone, with 7.51% of the world’s population currently using digital currencies. The report predicts that this figure will exceed 8% by 2025, signaling cryptocurrency’s potential to move from a niche market into the mainstream financial system. The report highlights the growing influence of institutional participation as a key factor in driving sustainable adoption growth.
The report cites the rise of institutional interest as one of the key factors accelerating the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Financial firms like BlackRock have played a critical role in building trust and legitimacy for digital assets in traditional financial systems. Marcus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, spoke about the role of institutional products in the growth of Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market: “Bitcoin’s evolution has consistently driven the price up whenever new levels of purchase have emerged in financial markets […] The launch of options on a spot Bitcoin ETF could trigger a new wave of institutional interest.”
Bitcoin plays a central role in the overall adoption of cryptocurrency, often seen as a store of value, especially during times of economic uncertainty. Thielen noted that economic problems have historically increased demand for Bitcoin, such as during the European debt crisis and the devaluation of the Chinese yuan.
He also added that: “[…] rising US debt levels could trigger strong demand for Bitcoin if the economy were to experience a slowdown, whether due to a recession or trade wars. This trend positions Bitcoin as a hedge in times of economic uncertainty.” Despite the optimistic outlook noted in the MatrixPort report, several hurdles remain, including regulatory concerns, market volatility, and concerns about the safety of retail investors. Hacks and scams such as wallet dumps remain a threat in the crypto space. Additionally, institutional investors could exacerbate market volatility, with large sell-offs potentially destabilizing the market during macroeconomic shifts.
Against the backdrop of such a rather modest growth of assets, one of the legitimate and stable forms of investment for obtaining a consistently high passive income is investing in the ASTL project (Hong Kong), which gives investors the opportunity to directly invest fiat and crypto assets in a stable passive income, which obviously exceeds inflation expectations and is not subject to any sanctions, blocking or confiscation. The ASTL project is a simple and elegant solution for potential investors – investing in the development of the real sector of a diversified cryptocurrency portfolio with a fairly high annual interest rate (up to 14%) with payments in stablecoin (USDT) and the possibility of a full return on investment through the subsequent sale of accumulated ASTL tokens on leading crypto exchanges. Details can be found at https://astl.world.
