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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) caught a bid in Tuesday late morning trading as Hong Kong’s securities regulator said it will allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrency starting June 1 on registered trading platforms.
The token saw some relief as the U.S. debt-ceiling drama weighed on its price in recent days, rising 1.6% to $27.30K at 11:39 a.m. ET. Ethereum (ETH-USD) was also in the green, climbing 2.2% to $1.85K.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission laid out new guidelines as part of the region’s broader effort to become a crypto hub for the globe. Recall China banned crypto trading two years ago, and other countries, chiefly the U.S., have increasingly scrutinized the space after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX (FTT-USD).
Under the new rules, the SFC will start accepting applications for virtual-asset platform licenses and enable such entities to provide services to retail investors, according to a report that detailed the conclusions of a consultation on retail participation.
Licensed platforms should “comply with a range of robust investor protection measures covering onboarding, governance, disclosure and token due diligence and admission, before providing trading services to retail investors,” the SFC said in its conclusions.
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