Kevin Lee leaves OSL to lead Gate.io’s Hong Kong entity
“Kevin’s expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to advance our presence in the virtual asset space.”
Gate Group has appointed Kevin Lee as the Chief Executive Officer of Gate.HK, the crypto specialist’s Hong Kong virtual asset exchange which has recently set up its new entity and applied for a local VASP license.
Kevin Lee joins Gate.HK, the Hong Kong version of Gate.io, from OSL, the insured and SFC-licensed digital asset platform. At OSL, Kevin Lee oversaw the regulatory requirements as a Type 1 & Type 7 licensed representative of the first ever SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platform.
“Our goal is to introduce a diverse range of trading services”
As Head of Sales Trading of OSL Digital Securities, he was head of trading of prime brokerage in cryptocurrency and digital assets, covering corresponding sales to clients in Asia, and managing the budget, exposure risk, and P&L of the business vertical. He also coordinated business development product roadmap globally across business verticals.
With over 17 years of experience in the Asia-Pacific region, Kevin Lee also held prominent positions with renowned financial institutions, including BNP Paribas, Macquarie Group, and JPMorgan Chase.
Gate Group stated his expertise in algorithmic trading, financial products, and his experience in fostering innovation align perfectly with Gate Group’s vision for Gate.HK.
Lin Han, Founder and CEO of Gate Group, said: “We are excited to have Kevin Lee join Gate Group as the Chief Executive Officer of Gate.HK. Kevin’s expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to advance our presence in the virtual asset space, ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge services to our growing user base.”
Kevin Lee, CEO of Gate.UK, commented: “I am honored to join Gate.HK and be part of their vision. In the future, our goal is to introduce a diverse range of trading services, tailoring each new product and service to meet the needs of users and the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong. ”
Gate.HK looking to secure Type 1 and Type 7 licenses from Hong Kong’s SFC
It was last week that Gate Group launched Gate.HK as a Hong Kong-based virtual asset trading platform offering virtual asset deposits and withdrawals, as well as spot trading on various virtual assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC).
The launch of Gate.HK follows the firm’s preparation for its application for licensing with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong.
Gate.HK aims to introduce a wider array of trading services catering to all users including retail users and professional investors. In the future, the new platform will roll out various other services to provide a more extensive range of trading choices, tailoring each new product and service to meet the needs of users and the regulatory requirements in Hong Kong.
In April, the firm announced Gate.UK applied with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) under the anti-money laundering laws to trade non-security tokens.
Additionally, Gate.HK wants to apply for Licenses under the Securities and Futures Ordinance for Type 1 (Securities Dealing) and Type 7 (Automated Trading Services Provision) regulated activities to facilitate security token trading.
The authorizations would allow Gate.io to establish relationships with traditional financial institutions like banks, which enables its customers to convert their cryptocurrency to fiat money or vice versa on the platform.
Gate.io cited the nation’s crypto-friendly policies as Hong Kong’s government is pushing to attract digital asset businesses, which would increase retail investors’ access to top cryptocurrencies and crypto exchange-traded funds.
Under the current framework, virtual assets are classified as “securities” or “commodities” depending on their specific characteristics and are subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional securities and commodities. This means that cryptocurrency exchanges that operate in Hong Kong are required to comply with a range of regulations relating to customer due diligence, anti-money laundering (AML), and other consumer protection measures.
