HTX Withdraws, Matrixport Applies Amid Hong Kong Crypto Clampdown, 21 Companies in Fray

Cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly known as Huobi Global, has withdrawn its license application in Hong Kong just three days after submission to the Securities and Futures Commission. Concurrently, Jihan Wu's Matrixport, under the name Flying Hippo Technologies Limited, submitted a license application for a virtual asset trading platform to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on February 26, joining 21 other companies. This flurry of activity comes as Hong Kong's regulators intensify scrutiny on crypto businesses and have ended the license application process for crypto exchanges as of February 29, with an announcement that noncompliant platforms will face closure.