Crypto.com to shut Hong Kong consumer app on 1 Feb 2027

At a glance

Crypto.com will stop serving Hong Kong users through its consumer app from 1 Feb 2027, and says affected customers have been told how to close accounts and withdraw funds.
A separate Hong Kong company is still seeking a Securities and Futures Commission licence for the Crypto.com Exchange; that application was filed in February 2024 and is still pending.

Crypto.com will discontinue its consumer app for Hong Kong users on 1 Feb 2027, the company confirmed to Bloomberg Law on Monday.

Emails sent to users cited regulatory changes, according to Hong Kong outlet HK01, which said Crypto.com confirmed the plan when asked. Services will be wound down in stages, HK01 reported.

Crypto.com told HK01 that customers “will receive clear guidance on closing their accounts” and that it is providing support “to ensure their funds can be withdrawn in an orderly way” (our translation from Chinese). It described the move as part of an effort to optimise global operations and put resources where it sees the most sustainable long-term opportunities.

Two entities, two outcomes

The app being withdrawn is operated by Foris DAX MT Limited, Crypto.com told HK01. The company stressed that this is a different legal entity from Foris DAX HK Limited, which has applied to the SFC to run a virtual asset trading platform (VATP), the licence Hong Kong requires for crypto exchanges serving the public.

The SFC’s published lists, checked at 10:48 UTC on Tuesday, show Foris DAX HK Limited among the applicants, with an application date of 9 Feb 2024. It is marked “deemed-to-be-licensed”, a transitional status for platforms that were operating before the regime began. The regulator states that applicants on that list are not licensed by the SFC.

Thirteen platforms hold full VATP licences on the same page, from OSL and HashKey Exchange to Bixin.com, licensed in May 2026. Crypto.com said it will keep pursuing the application for its institutional-grade Crypto.com Exchange.

HK01 also reported that Foris DAX HK had earlier been said to have only one responsible officer, against the SFC’s requirement of at least two, and that Crypto.com has since appointed two. This has not been independently confirmed by CryptoWatchDesk.

Context

Hong Kong has spent the autumn widening what licensed venues can do. In October the city opened two tokenised funds to 24/7 trading, and the HKMA has since moved its Ensemble project to 24/7 tokenised settlement.

Why it matters: Hong Kong users of the Crypto.com app have three months to move their assets, and the exit shows the cost of a licence application that has stayed pending for nearly three years.

The SFC has not said when it will decide on the Foris DAX HK application. The next date for users is 1 Feb 2027, when the app stops serving Hong Kong.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.