Hong Kong Prepares Sweeping Rules to Foil Stealthy Crypto Purchases
- Curbs loom for shops and websites that swap cash for crypto
- City is seeking to add more licensed digital-asset exchanges
This article is for subscribers only.
Dotted across Hong Kong are small shops that convert between cash and crypto with few questions asked, a modern-day echo of the city’s freewheeling past. Soon, many may shut under a looming crackdown.
Officials estimate 450 shops, automated teller machines and websites in Hong Kong offer such services. They are a key slice of over-the-counter or OTC crypto trades, which accounted for the bulk of the $64 billion in digital assets that flowed through the city in the year through June, according to Chainalysis.