Many local Hong Kong brokerage firms have completed the No. 1 license upgrade, and more institutions may join in the future

PANews reported on June 26 that according to a report by Gelonghui citing Yicai, industry insiders who are directly involved in the application for virtual asset licenses and system docking revealed that many local Hong Kong brokerages (such as Shengli Securities (8540.H), Aide Securities, etc.) have completed the No. 1 license upgrade. Guotai Junan International is not the only Chinese brokerage to apply for a license, and more institutions may join in the future. Brokerages mainly provide "distribution" trading services rather than proprietary exchange operations. Specifically, its model is to set up an omnibus account in a licensed exchange, and through access to the trading system, provide customers with channels for buying and selling mainstream compliant currencies such as BTC and ETH, without involving high-risk altcoins or air coins. At present, many of the above-mentioned local brokerages have carried out similar distribution services, and their compliance requirements such as customer due diligence (KYC), suitability management and investor education are basically consistent with Guotai Junan International, and both prohibit mainland Chinese residents from participating in transactions.