Bitcoin News Official TheBitTimes.com

The Hong Kong regulators have only approved a handful of crypto exchanges to date that are permitted to offer crypto retail trading services. OKX crypto currency exchange has entered the final stage before acquiring a virtual asset service provider license (VASP) in Hong Kong. The crypto exchange expects the final approval for a VASP by March next year. Li Zhikai, the global chief commercial officer of OKX, in an interview, said that they are actively engaged in a dialogue with the banks and are currently waiting for the group to be issued a license and start a business. The crypto exchange has started the preparatory work such as technology docking. Hong Kong became a pro-crypto nation in 2023 and announced a licensing regime for crypto exchanges to offer their services to retail customers. While more than 80 crypto firms initially showed interest in opening an office in the country, only a couple of crypto platforms such as HashKey and OSL gained the necessary license to

Once fully licensed in Dubai, Bybit plans to run a full-scope exchange, offering crypto lending, payments, investment and other services. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit already operates out of Dubai, but its current licensing doesn’t allow the firm to serve all customers, according to its CEO. On June 27, Bybit FinTech FZE, a subsidiary of the global exchange Bybit, announced it received the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) preparatory license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the exchange is working hard to acquire a full market product license in Dubai, which will allow the exchange to operate for a full spectrum of customers in the United Arab Emirates. “Bybit already operates out of Dubai; the MVP license only allows Bybit to service a very restricted set of accredited investors,” Zhou said. “I feel positive about our progress as VARA demonstrates an interest and passion for innovation and entrepreneurship,” he