Hong Kong Prepares Crackdown on Stealthy Crypto Purchases (2)

Dotted across Hong Kong are small shops that convert between cash and crypto with few questions asked, a modern-day echo of the city’s freewheeling past. Soon, many may shut under a looming crackdown.

Officials estimate 450 shops, automated teller machines and websites in Hong Kong offer such services. They are a key slice of over-the-counter or OTC crypto trades, which accounted for the bulk of the $64 billion in digital assets that flowed through the city in the year through June, according to Chainalysis.

An advert for the unlicensed JPEX crypto platform at a subway station in Hong Kong in 2022.

Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

Some crypto shops are suspected of facilitating banned activity, for instance Chinese nationals flouting ...