On November 13, Bitget, a cryptocurrency trading platform, announced its decision to abandon the pursuit of a Virtual Asset Trading Platform (VATP) license in Hong Kong due to several considerations related to its business and the market. As a result, Bitget's Hong Kong branch, BitgetX (accessible through the domain name BitgetX.hk), is set to halt its operations on December 13, 2023. The company clarified that this decision not to pursue the VATP license in Hong Kong ultimately leads to its permanent exit from the Hong Kong market.
Bitget urged its users to withdraw their cryptocurrency assets from BitgetX before the stipulated date of December 13, emphasizing that after this deadline, the website will no longer be accessible, rendering users unable to manage or access their assets on the platform. Additionally, the exchange highlighted that asset trading on BitgetX would cease immediately, with only withdrawal options available. Moreover, BitgetX will cease accepting new user registrations starting November 13.
Established in 2018, Bitget stands as one of the world's prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, reportedly handling close to 1 million cryptocurrency trades daily, as per CoinGecko. Despite previous assurances from the Hong Kong arm of the exchange regarding its intent to acquire a VATP license under Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission's new cryptocurrency framework, set to be effective from June 2023, the decision to forgo this pursuit led to the cessation of operations in Hong Kong.
Simultaneously, OSL, another cryptocurrency exchange, made headlines on November 13 by announcing the suspension of stock market trading. This decision came after the exchange halted the trading of OSL shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, following a request made by its operator, BC Technology.
Rumors had circulated within the industry previously, suggesting that Bitget might have acquired or invested in the OSL business. Reports from October indicated that BC Technology, the operator of OSL, was contemplating the sale of the OSL exchange for around HK$1 billion (approximately $128 million).
