The company urged platform users to withdraw their assets before August 28 as it plans to delist all of its tokens.
Cryptocurrency exchange platform Gate.io has announced that it will cease operations of Hong Kong-based Gate HK, and has also officially withdrawn its application for a license to operate a cryptocurrency trading platform in Hong Kong. This decision may be linked to increasingly stringent regulations on virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in China.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has warned that all VASPs operating in the region and those that have not yet submitted license applications must close their operations in Hong Kong by May 31. This warning prompted some cryptocurrency exchange platforms to rush to submit. Some even went out of business.
Gate.HK, which officially began operating in Hong Kong in May, said it would undergo a major overhaul of its platform and withdraw its licensed operations in the city.
However, the company plans to delist all of its tokens, including major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL), so users of the platform are advised to do so before August 28. They called for the assets to be withdrawn. ), especially until 4pm on May 28 (Hong Kong time).
In addition to the delisting, the exchange company said that from the moment the announcement was made, it would no longer accept asset deposits, register new users on its platform and stop marketing its services in Hong Kong. The company stated:
“Marketing Suspension: Effective immediately, Gate.HK will cease marketing its services in Hong Kong. We encourage users to have sufficient time to close or manage their positions on Gate.HK before 4:00 PM (Hong Kong time) on May 28, 2024 and withdraw their assets from the platform before August 28, 2024. I highly recommend it.”
Gate.HK submitted its license application to the Hong Kong SFC in February. The sudden withdrawal, while surprising, can be traced to the company’s failure to secure appropriate licenses for legal business within Hong Kong. Despite this setback, the cryptocurrency exchange platform said it is working to make necessary changes to its operations and plans to resume operations in the region at a later date.
Response of other cryptocurrency exchanges to regulatory pressure
This is not the first time Gate.HK has withdrawn its application. This is because several other virtual asset service providers have taken similar measures after failing to pass Hong Kong cryptocurrency regulations. HKVAEX, a Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange known to be linked to Binance, announced on March 28 that it would close its business after withdrawing its license application.
Likewise, HTX’s Hong Kong affiliate, Huobi HK, withdrew its license application for the second time on May 14 and plans to cease operations by August. According to SFC regulations, virtual asset providers that do not meet the requirements will be shut down on May 31 or within three months of receiving notification from the regulator.
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