The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has granted conditional licenses to four virtual asset trading platforms. 

The platforms — Accumulus GBA Technology, DFX Labs, Hong Kong Digital Asset EX, and Thousand Whales Technology — must meet specific regulatory conditions before fully operating, according to the SFC.

The licenses follow the SFC’s risk-based inspections introduced in June. These inspections are designed to evaluate compliance with Hong Kong’s virtual asset regulations, aiming to protect investors while fostering growth in the crypto sector.

To proceed, the licensed exchanges must complete third-party vulnerability assessments and penetration tests. These tests identify and address potential security weaknesses, ensuring the platforms are capable of securely handling digital asset trading.

The SFC will oversee the process and assess whether the platforms have resolved issues identified during inspections.

SFC’s inspections and expecations

According to Dr. Eric Yip, the SFC’s Executive Director of Intermediaries, the regulator has worked closely with the management of these platforms to clarify expectations and speed up the licensing process. 

This proactive engagement will continue into the second phase of assessments, during which external assessors will evaluate the platforms under SFC supervision. Upon successful completion of this phase and satisfaction of all conditions, the exchanges will be able to expand their business operations.

The SFC has also issued a circular outlining the roadmap for the licensing process. This guidance aims to streamline the compliance journey for virtual asset trading platforms while reinforcing regulatory standards.

For those unfamiliar with crypto regulation, licenses like these ensure exchanges operate legally and securely. Licensed platforms must implement measures to safeguard user funds, prevent fraud, and deter market manipulation.

HBAR was one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies on Monday, Dec. 2, amid significant whale accumulation and community hype surrounding the HBAR ecosystem.

Hedera (HBAR) rose 47% over the past day, exchanging hands at a seven-month high of $0.253 before shedding some of its gains and settling at $0.250 at press time. The altcoin’s recent rally extended its monthly gains to over 450% while its market cap stood at $9.65 billion.

Rumours are driving the HBAR rally

HBAR’s rally has been driven by its growing involvement in blockchain-powered federal payment systems. Hedera’s integration with the Federal Reserve’s FedNow payment network, facilitated by Dropp, enables real-time, secure, and efficient transactions.

Speculation has also emerged around Ripple’s potential involvement, with rumors suggesting an expansion of Hedera’s integration to include support for Ripple’s upcoming RLUSD stablecoin. If true, this could pave the way for an interoperability layer between HBAR and XRP, furthering their collaboration on global standards for CBDC and stablecoin settlements.

Further, HBAR traders are optimistic due to speculation surrounding the potential approval of a Hedera-focused exchange-traded fund filed by Canary Capital with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With Gary Gensler stepping down as SEC chairman, a potential approval under Trump’s administration seems plausible. This could open the door for greater institutional investment, potentially driving further price growth for HBAR.

Rumors and recent developments appear to be driving heightened activity among whales. Data from HederaWatch highlights a sharp increase in accounts holding between 100,000 and 100 million HBAR, with those holding 100 million surging by over 20% since August.

HBAR’s price surge has been matched by a notable jump in trading activity and open interest. Within the last 24 hours, trading volume skyrocketed by 323% to $3.46 billion, while open interest climbed 76% to $324 million. The uptick indicates an influx of fresh capital into the market, potentially providing the momentum needed for continued price growth.

HBAR has also garnered significant retail attention, reaching its highest search interest in U.S. markets in five years, according to Google Trends.

HBAR is overbought

On the daily HBAR/USDT chart, HBAR’s price has climbed above both its 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages, forming a golden cross. This is a strong bullish signal that often points to growing momentum and the potential for further price increases.

At the same time, the Relative Strength Index has hit 83, showing strong buying activity and confirming the bullish trend. However, an RSI above 70 typically signals that an asset is in overbought territory. This means HBAR might be due for a cooldown or a price pullback if the current momentum starts to slow down.

In case of a price reversal, the altcoin could find support at $0.1358, aligning with the middle Bollinger Band—a level previously tested as support during its drop on Nov. 25.

United States Securities and Exchange has targeted blockchain gaming platform Immutable potentially targeting its listing and private sales of the IMX token in 2021.

According to a Nov. 1 statement from Immutable, the SEC issued an “accelerated” Wells notice following an initial interaction where the SEC informed the company that a Wells notice would be sent “within the week,” but delivered it “within hours” instead.

Immutable highlighted the vague nature of the notice, stating that it “simply cited statutory provisions” with “fewer than 20 words of material explanation” and offered little meaningful detail about the investigation’s focus. The company believes the agency’s claims could be targeting the “listing and private sales” of its native IMX token in 2021.

Shortly after issuing the notice, the SEC reportedly engaged in a phone call with the firm, raising concerns over a 2021 blog post in which Immutable detailed Huobi Ventures’ early investment in IMX at a pre-launch price of $0.10 issued at a “$10 pre-100:1 split”, stating that there had been no “exchange of value” in the deal.

Immutable disputes this claim, arguing that the investment was, in fact, legitimate and backed by “real consideration.” 

The firm added it is “confident in its position” regarding the classification of the IMX token, pushing back against what it described as the SEC “indiscriminately claiming that tokens across the industry are securities.” 

Immutable called for a “robust conversation to clarify facts” and expressed its willingness to challenge the SEC’s enforcement approach if necessary.

Reacting to the news, Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson reiterated the company’s position to “defend digital ownership in gaming” by joining contemporaries like Robinhood and OpenSea in defending against the SEC’s claims.

While a Wells notice does not guarantee that formal action will be taken, the development came as a blow to Immutable’s IMX token which was down more than 14% at press time.

The SEC, led by Chair Gary Gensler, has consistently gone after crypto firms for allegedly skirting securities laws. This has also sparked pushback from U.S. policymakers, who say Gensler is creating confusion in the digital asset space by introducing terms like “crypto asset security.”

Yet the regulator remains unfazed, recently issuing a Wells notice to Crypto.com. In response, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit challenging the commission.