<\/p>\n
Hong Kong\u2019s SFC flags HabitTrade in a warning on unlicensed virtual asset platforms, but the broker insists it hasn\u2019t done regulated business or marketed services to Hong Kong investors and blames unauthorized third\u2011party promoters.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
HabitTrade has pushed back against an investor alert from Hong Kong\u2019s Securities and Futures Commission, saying it does not carry out regulated activities in the city and has not marketed its services to Hong Kong residents. In a statement posted on X, the brokerage said it \u201cis a licensed Australian brokerage and compliant financial services platform\u201d and that it \u201chas not conducted any regulated business in Hong Kong, nor promoted or provided related services to the public in Hong Kong,\u201d directly disputing any suggestion that it is operating there without authorization.<\/p>\n
The clarification comes after the SFC published a notice reminding the public to be wary of \u201cunlicensed platforms and related market promotional activities,\u201d explicitly flagging HabitTrade in the context of suspicious marketing around virtual asset trading. While the regulator\u2019s latest web alert does not yet list HabitTrade by name on its public \u201csuspicious virtual asset trading platforms\u201d page, the SFC has regularly used such notices to call out firms it believes may be targeting Hong Kong investors without a license. In an earlier circular on crypto products, the SFC warned that dealing in virtual asset futures or routing related orders for Hong Kong clients is a \u201cType 2\u201d regulated activity and \u201crequires a license from the SFC regardless of whether the business is located in Hong Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n
HabitTrade argues that any recent marketing push is not coming from the company itself. The broker said that \u201csome third-party promotional content, video materials, and platform traffic diversion activities that have recently appeared in the market do not represent the official position of HabitTrade,\u201d adding that it \u201creserves the right to trace and take legal action against any misleading promotions and violations using its brand, technological channels, or partnerships without authorization.\u201d The firm also pledged to \u201cadhere to a compliance-first approach and cooperate with the regulatory requirements of relevant jurisdictions to conduct necessary investigations,\u201d signaling that it is prepared to work with authorities to identify promoters it says are misusing its name.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The dispute highlights how aggressive Hong Kong\u2019s enforcement stance around virtual assets has become. In 2023, the SFC warned unlicensed virtual asset trading platforms that making false claims about license applications or offering prohibited services such as staking could constitute a criminal offence under the Anti\u2011Money Laundering and Counter\u2011Terrorist Financing Ordinance. In February 2024, the regulator and local police jointly warned about an alleged scam using the name of MEXC, putting the platform on its alert list and reiterating that overseas exchanges cannot market or serve Hong Kong retail users without a license, as crypto.news reported in a detailed\u00a0story.<\/p>\n
Those rules have only tightened. A recent crypto.news\u00a0story\u00a0on Hong Kong\u2019s upcoming stablecoin and virtual asset regime noted that the city is building out parallel licensing systems for exchanges, custodians, dealers and advisers, and making it explicit that any foreign platform \u201ctargeting\u201d Hong Kong investors via marketing or website localization is within scope. Against that backdrop, HabitTrade\u2019s insistence that it has done no regulated business in Hong Kong is as much about legal risk as it is about reputation: under current SFC guidance, even the perception of soliciting Hong Kong users without a license can be enough to land a platform on the regulator\u2019s alert list, with all the banking and counterparties problems that follow.<\/p>\n
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