An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Hong Kong is pivoting toward a friendlier regulatory regime for cryptocurrencies with a plan to legalize retail trading, contrasting with the city’s skeptical stance of recent years and the ban in place in mainland China. A planned mandatory licensing program for crypto platforms set to be enforced in March next year will allow retail trading, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Regulators are seeking to allow listings of bigger tokens but won’t endorse specific coins like Bitcoin or Ether, the people said, adding the details and timetable have yet to be finalized as a public consultation is due first.

The government is expected to flesh out its recently stated goal of creating a top crypto hub at a fintech conference starting Monday. The push comes amid a broader drive to restore Hong Kong’s credentials as a finance center after years of political turmoil and Covid curbs sparked a talent exodus. […] The upcoming regime for listing tokens on retail exchanges is likely to include criteria such as their market value, liquidity and membership of third-party crypto indexes, the people familiar said. That’s similar to the approach for structured products such as warrants, they added. “Introducing mandatory licensing in Hong Kong is just one of the important things regulators have to do,” said Gary Tiu, executive director at crypto firm BC Technology Group Ltd. “They can’t forever effectively close the needs of retail investors.”

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Source: Slashdot – Hong Kong Plans To Legalize Retail Crypto Trading To Become Hub