The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2023–2026
HKVAX bets Hong Kong's VATP licence regime; becomes city's third licensed crypto exchange
A Hong Kong team built an STO/RWA-tokenisation exchange around the SFC's licence regime; in Oct 2024 HKVAX became the city's third licensed crypto platform.
HKVAX (Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange)
What the business is
A Hong Kong virtual-asset trading platform licensed by the SFC, specialising in security token offerings (STO), real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation, exchange trading, OTC brokerage and custody.
How it started
Hong Kong's SFC opened its virtual asset trading platform (VATP) regime in June 2023 and told every exchange to apply for a licence or exit the market by mid-2024. HKVAX, helmed by co-founder and CEO Anthony Ng, leaned into it: it secured approval-in-principle in August 2023 and spent over a year satisfying the regulator's conditions, treating the licence itself as the product.
What happened
On 4 October 2024 the SFC granted HKVAX Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 7 (automated trading) licences plus an AMLO licence to run a virtual asset trading platform — the city's third licensed crypto exchange after HashKey and OSL. The company said it would offer OTC brokerage for institutions, a 24/7 trading venue and insured custody, with STO and RWA tokenisation as its specialty, and courted ETF and stablecoin issuers as partners.
How it ended up
Licensed and building: at approval its trading platform and onboarding were still 'undergoing final preparations', so HKVAX began life turning a headline licence into a working venue while licensed rivals raced ahead on spot volumes.
Background
Hong Kong's SFC launched its virtual asset trading platform (VATP) regime in June 2023 with a blunt message: get licensed or get out. HKVAX — a Hong Kong-founded exchange — made that ultimatum its business plan. It filed for approval-in-principle in August 2023 and spent more than a year satisfying the regulator's conditions, betting that the licence itself was the product.
On 4 October 2024 the bet paid off: the SFC granted HKVAX Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 7 (automated trading) licences, plus an AMLO licence to operate as a virtual asset trading platform, making it the city's third licensed crypto exchange after HashKey and OSL. Co-founder and CEO Anthony Ng said the platform would offer OTC brokerage for institutions, a 24/7 trading venue and insured custody, with security token offerings (STO) and real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation as its specialty — aiming to establish Hong Kong as the STO and RWA centre for Asia and beyond.
The bet was differentiation: while grey-market and offshore platforms chased retail speculation, HKVAX staked its future on licensed, tokenised securities — the business a regulator would protect. The catch was timing: at licensing, the trading platform and onboarding system were still 'undergoing final preparations', and the regime itself had 'so far struggled to gain traction' — so HKVAX won its badge before it had a finished venue to trade.
What has to be true
- HKVAX bet that in a regime that expelled unlicensed platforms, the SFC licence itself would be its moat: pricing power, trust and marketing in one document.
- It chose tokenisation over chase: STO and RWA issuance aimed at institutional custody and regulated securities, not the retail spot race.
- The licence outran the product: at approval the platform was still in final preparations, so the badge preceded the trading venue.
- Hong Kong's official push to become a virtual-asset hub carried the story: SCMP and the crypto press turned the licence into free distribution the young exchange could not have bought.
What can be applied
A licence is a strategy, not a checkbox: HKVAX built its pitch on the SFC regime and earned a badge grey-market rivals can't copy. But it only opens the door — the platform still had to be built.
Aftermath
As of September 2026, HKVAX is still SFC-licensed and live, running its STO/RWA-tokenisation play while larger licensed venues dominate retail spot trading. Founder Anthony Ng has kept the exchange visible — named a Forbes China 'Web 3.0 Innovation Pioneer' — and the firm pursues institutional partnerships. The case is still open: the licence validated the model and proved a local team could survive Hong Kong's most demanding financial regulator, but the exchange must convert a headline-grabbing badge into traded volumes before the regime's early movers pull away.
Sources
- Hong Kong grants fresh licence to HKVAX to operate city's third cryptocurrency exchange
- SFC Licenses HKVAX as Hong Kong's Third Regulated Crypto Exchange
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