4 million in fines, 136 clients: Completely blocking the domestic crypto market through licensing in Hong Kong!

Saxo was fined 4 million by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for violating regulations on distributing crypto products. The most thought-provoking part of this incident is not the fine itself, but the bleak performance: after four years of effort, only 136 clients were acquired.

This is the most embarrassing reality of doing crypto business in Hong Kong. To obtain a license and maintain compliance, institutions must spend astronomical amounts on legal and system costs, but the price is a complete severance of contact with mainland clients.

Mainland users are an absolute red line that must not be touched. If you try to use a Hong Kong license to "circumvent" and do business in mainland China, just reaching out will immediately trigger license revocation and heavy penalties.

Saxo's case proves that the local market in Hong Kong is extremely small, and customer acquisition efficiency is so low that it’s despairing.

If your business logic still harbors the illusion of "leveraging Hong Kong to tap into mainland traffic," then this unprofitable situation is inevitable.