Hong Kong authorities have reported that 145 users fell victim to a scam by the unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange Hounax, resulting in a loss of $18.9 million. The exchange claimed to be licensed and cooperated with legal financial institutions, but was listed as a suspicious platform by the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission. Hounax allegedly used false claims, such as being founded by the original Coinbase technical team and having investments from big names like Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital, to attract local customers. The platform also utilized social media, although its official Facebook page is no longer online. This incident follows a previous scandal with the JPEX exchange, which resulted in $180 million in losses and the arrest of 66 individuals. As a result, local regulators in Hong Kong have tightened crypto regulation, but the one-year grace period for crypto exchanges remains unchanged. The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission currently lists nine suspicious crypto investment platforms, including Hounax.

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Information	Details
Geography	Asia
Countries	🇭🇰 🇨🇦
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	1
People	Ke Yongn
Companies	IDG Capital, Hong Kong Digital Research Institute, FUBT, Sequoia Capital, arrano.network, futubit/futu-pro, Hounax, OSL trading, Coinbase, EFSPD, BitCuped, JPEX, Canadian authorities, Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission (SFC)
Currencies	Hong Kong Dollar
Securities	None