Sources from the Hong Kong edition of South China Morning claim that the local crypto exchange HKVAEX was created by Binance in the hope of obtaining a license from Hong Kong regulators to provide crypto services.

HKVAEX recently announced its intention to apply for a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) as an independent company. Formally, HKVAEX was created in Hong Kong under the management of the holding company BX Services Limited.

However, according to three anonymous insiders close to HKVAEX, the platform is heavily integrated technically, financially and otherwise with the world’s largest crypto exchange, and the exchange’s website shows that it uses Binance servers to receive content.

While Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao has repeatedly noted the high potential of China’s crypto market, the company has not publicly expressed interest in obtaining its own virtual asset license in the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong.

The exchanges did not comment on the publication of local journalists, limiting themselves to a statement that HKVAEX is an independent company and is not part of the group of Binance affiliates.

In October, Binance stopped issuing and servicing Visa debit cards, and its American subsidiary Binance.US prohibited withdrawals of funds in US dollars.