MEXC is actively promoting its services to Hong Kong investors despite lacking SFC approval. The exchange did not even apply for a license, but launched an advertisement aimed at local investors, offering new users $20 for successfully completing the Know Your Customer (KYC) procedure. For users from Hong Kong who invite people to MEXC using a referral link, a reward of 10 MX, the exchange’s own tokens, is promised.
Under local anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws, it is an offense to provide or promote virtual asset services to Hong Kong investors. Investors risk losing their entire investment if a crypto platform goes out of business, encounters technical problems, is hacked or steals client assets, the SFC has warned.
Recently, the Hong Kong regulator added the Bybit crypto exchange to the list of suspicious companies. Currently, the list includes about 20 exchanges for trading cryptocurrencies. At the beginning of March SFC
published warning about suspicious websites posing as licensed crypto platforms OSL Digital Securities and Hash Blockchain (HashKey). In February, the SFC warned about scammers posing as crypto exchange MEXC.
The SFC previously said that if local cryptocurrency platforms do not apply for a license by February 29, they will be required to close by May 31, 2024.
Source: Bits
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