Hong Kong: Crypto Trading Platform Coinsuper Targets Institutional Investors

Hong-Kong based cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinsuper is set to readjust its business compass towards institutional investors in the emerging asset class, reports South China Morning Post, February 24, 2019.

Coinsuper Aims for the Big Money

Cryptocurrencies the world over had a tumultuous 2018 in terms of price volatility. The nascent industry saw its market cap raze down by more than 80 percent from its all-time high value in January 2018. As a result, many businesses in the infant industry shuttered due to financial crunch and rampant exit scams.

However, Asian crypto trading platform Coinsuper was able to withstand the beating that was 2018 and now aims to steer its business toward institutional investors. This comes amid Hong-Kong’s steady movement towards a regulated crypto ecosystem which requires exchanges to obtain necessary licenses to set up their business.

Hong-Kong’s national stock exchange, the Hong-Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) unveiled a “regulatory sandbox” approach for the emerging digital currency industry on October 23, 2018. Under the new rules, exchanges can only offer services to institutional investors with portfolios worth at least $1 million. Further, they can offer no margin or leverage trading, or hold insurance.

However, the new regulatory approach couldn’t provide much clarity to crypto investors in Hong-Kong as on November 26, 2018, it came to light that the “sandbox approach” does not extend to platform operators trading digital assets that are futures derivatives or contracts, which basically leaves investors at God’s mercy in case of exchange manipulation or security breach.

Institutional Advantage

Per the report by SCMP, the new changes aim to tighten lax security measures associated with the crypto industry. The year 2018 had no dearth of crypto asset theft from prominent exchanges the world over. Coinsuper would also have the pressure to keep the trading volume up once it does away with retail investors.

Coinsuper’s CEO, Karen Chen Qing, however, continues to have a steady head. She said:

“Institutional clients are mindful of security breaches, and we have learned a lot from the market. If our infrastructure is steady and robust, we would naturally entice trading volume. We are not worried about declines in trading volume too much.” 

(Source: South China Morning Post)

She said that professional investors have a much larger appetite for volatility in crypto assets due to their expert knowledge and financial prowess.

Qing added that Coinsuper currently has one million registered users and deals in popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), and ether (ETH), among others.