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After the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) discovered data protection weaknesses in a number of licensed crypto exchanges, the regulator moved to take more active action. The reason was not only individual flaws, but also a wave of serious incidents related to the security of clients' assets on foreign platforms, which greatly affected the crypto industry.

In this regard, the SFC has sent a special notification to all controlled virtual trading platforms (VATPS). This is a set of clear requirements and recommendations aimed at significantly improving the protection of investors' digital assets. These new rules are an important part of ASPIRe's strategic plan, namely its Safeguard direction.

The main task is to build a truly invulnerable storage system. Exchanges need to strengthen the protection of digital assets in several areas at once: from strengthening wallet infrastructure (especially offline storage) and multi-stage access control to implementing 24/7 cyber threat monitoring systems.

Special attention is paid to the personal responsibility of managers for the safety of assets and careful verification of third-party storage services, if they are used. The goal is to increase the overall resilience of the industry to cyber attacks and create an image for Hong Kong not just as a trading hub, but also as a reliable place for digital assets in the face of growing instability in the world.

As noted by Eric Ip, Executive Director of the SFC: "Without trust, the market cannot exist. If Hong Kong is going to maintain its status as an international center of digital assets, the priority must be to protect customer funds."

The updated requirements are an element of the ASPIRe plan, which aims not only to boost the crypto business in the region, but also to make it more secure. Against the background of increasingly frequent cyber attacks, the authorities are making it clear that anyone who does not intend to follow the new conditions may lose everything.

While the value of bitcoin is jumping, and market participants are trying to predict further developments, Hong Kong is focusing on reliability. The main thing is whether someone else will follow the same tactics.