Australian crypto exchange weighs potential Hong Kong base

AUSTRALIAN cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve plans to look more closely at opportunities in Hong Kong as the city pursues a regulatory revamp to create a hub for digital-asset businesses.

The company will be visiting Hong Kong shortly to “learn more about the upcoming regulations and really look more closely at that as a potential base for another office in Asia”, Adrian Przelozny, chief executive of Independent Reserve, said in an interview on Wednesday (Mar 22).

A growing number of firms are examining Hong Kong’s efforts to establish a centre for virtual assets, a drive that stands in stark contrast to a crackdown on the sector in the US. Crypto market data provider Kaiko said last week that it plans to relocate its Asian headquarters to Hong Kong from Singapore.

Sydney-based Independent Reserve has just officially launched a new platform, Bitcoin.com.au, after purchasing the domain name in a A$3 million ($2.7 million) deal last year. The company also operates as a licenced virtual-asset service provider in Singapore, which remains a “very high priority”, Przelozny said. BLOOMBERG