Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is expanding its team to strengthen market surveillance and speed up exchange approvals, as the city aims to become a global crypto hub.

Hiring More Crypto Regulators

The SFC has proposed increasing its staff, with a focus on monitoring virtual asset trading platforms, improving market surveillance, and ramping up enforcement. The regulator is seeking 15 new hires, eight of whom will be dedicated to virtual asset regulation.

The budget proposal for the 2025-26 financial year projects the SFC’s recurrent expenditure to reach HK$2.59 billion ($332.4 million), an increase of 7.2% from the previous year’s forecast. A large portion of this growth comes from higher staff costs, including an average salary increase of 2.1%.

Enhancing Supervision and Licensing

The additional hires are seen as necessary after the SFC admitted that its existing staff struggled to meet inspection targets. In 2023, the regulator conducted only 200 on-site inspections of licensed financial firms, falling short of its goal of 300.

With additional personnel, the SFC seeks to remedy this shortfall and enhance its supervision of Hong Kong’s crypto ecosystem. The regulator has been actively engaging with trading platforms to fasten the licensing process, which has led to a significant increase in approvals.

In June 2023, Hong Kong formally launched its licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs), allowing approved exchanges to serve retail investors under a structured framework. Since then, the government has been refining its regulatory approach, including advancing a proposed stablecoin oversight framework.

Recent Developments and Licenses

The results of this push are becoming clear. On January 27, the SFC issued its first two licenses of 2025, approving PantherTrade and YAX as licensed crypto exchanges. This brought the total number of licensed VATPs in Hong Kong to nine, including OSL and HashKey.

The expansion of the SFC’s team and the refinement of its regulatory approach are expected to further establish Hong Kong as a regulated and attractive destination for crypto businesses.

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