JPEX crypto exchange shuts trading amid regulator probe

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange JPEX is shutting trading on its platform amid a probe by the Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission that said the firm was operating as an unlicensed entity, according to media reports. 

See related article: Hong Kong Web3 industry forms new associations to push crypto hub ambition

Fast facts

• JPEX attributed blame to its “third-party market makers” for freezing funds and restricting liquidity, after news of investigations by Hong Kong authorities.
• Meanwhile, Hong Kong police received at least 83 complaints about the exchange, according to a South China Morning Post report Monday.
• Hong Kong police arrested influencer Joseph Lam Chok Monday in connection with cryptocurrency trading platform JPEX, according to media reports. 
• Hong Kong has been welcoming investments from digital assets companies and has set out new rules for the industry as the city aims to become a global hub for digital assets. 
• It allows licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms to offer services to retail investors while implementing measures to protect individual traders.

See related article: Hong Kong? Singapore? Tokyo? Seoul? Dubai? The race is on for the Web3 hub of Asia | Part 1