Hong Kong crypto exchange licensing fees lower than anticipated

Hong Kong crypto exchange licenses are now costing applicants millions of dollars, a significant drop from the $25 million price tag seen just a year ago.
In a recent conversation with the Financial Times, Livio Wang, the chief operating officer of HashKey Group, mentioned that obtaining crypto exchange licenses in Hong Kong is not necessarily in the tens of millions of dollars, but definitely in the tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars (equivalent to several million in USD).
Wang explained that the expenses related to the process of preparing materials for the license review differ from those involved in the operational stage. He also noted that Hong Kong regulators have taken action since June 1 to shut down all unlicensed crypto exchanges in the city, with the threat of criminal charges for those who fail to comply. Currently, there are over 11 firms with the designation of being “deemed to be licensed.” In contrast, last year, only two exchanges, HashKey and OSL, were fully licensed.
During the interview, Wang shared that HashKey Exchange has now amassed $500 million in user assets since its inception and has facilitated a total of $440 billion in trades. He also mentioned that the number of active customers has increased significantly, with a 267% rise in activated customers this week compared to last week, and a more than threefold increase in newly activated customers.
In a strategic move following the footsteps of Coinbase, HashKey established a global exchange in Bermuda for international users in April. This new exchange, HashKey Global, will not cater to users in Hong Kong, China, the United States, or several other regions, unlike its Hong Kong-based counterpart, which was the first to receive a license to operate in the area.
The launch of Hong Kong’s exchange licensing system faced setbacks last year when an unlicensed crypto exchange called JPEX managed to scam investors out of $166 million before collapsing in September 2023.
Related: Mt. Gox holding on to Bitcoin for now, Hong Kong cracking down on crypto exchanges.