JPEX Increases Withdrawal Fee Following Hong Kong’s Regulator Warning

Hong Kong Authorities Issue Warning to JPEX

JPEX is a cryptocurrency exchange that has received a warning from the regulators in Hong Kong. Some of the posts emerging on social media recently have revealed that the employees of the firm abandoned their posts at Token 2049 in Singapore when the warning was publicized.

Following the warning, the exchange experienced a visible increase in the amount of outflows. Such that the platform has adopted preventive measures and raised the withdrawal fees as high as 999 USDT tokens.

The exchange platform has received a warning from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong or HKSFC. With the arrival of the warning from the regulator, the employees of the firm that were serving at the Token 2029 booth in Singapore were recorded to leave their posts reportedly.

The warning arrived at 13th September and the regulators have warned the exchange platform from promoting its services to the public as a licensed and regulated entity despite not holding a VATP license from SFC. The regulators have also alerted that the firm has not applied to obtain a license thus far.

JPEX Gets in Trouble for Marketing Itself as a Licensed Trading Platform

 Regulatory agencies in Hong Kong have raised an alarm that JPEX has introduced itself as a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in the region. However, the officials have confirmed that the trading platform is not among the service providers that are currently in the process of applying for a trading license with the agency.

SFC has also claimed that it has contacted relevant leaders and OTC stores regarding the suspicious activities of the trading platform and directed to stop promoting or advertising its services. As soon as the changes took place, social media started to get filled with reports of withdrawals fee hikes as high as 999 USDT.

The trading platform has implemented the measure as a countering tactic to halt the increasing withdrawals at the exchange. The update posted by one user on X revealed that the exchange platform hailing from Hong Kong is offering 30% APY on stablecoin staking.

Meanwhile, there are some others users who have posted the pictures of abandoned booths of Token 2049 after JPEX employees abandoned their posts following the warnings issued by HKSFC. Meanwhile, event participants have also criticized the organizers for allowing the firm as one of the sponsor.

JPEX to Apply for VATP

JPEX recently issued a statement that retained that the firm is going to apply for a VATP or Virtual Asset Trading Platform license. Nevertheless, the firm has failed to offer any concrete evidence of its intentions to process a application with the regulator thus far.

SFC has issued warning against the unregulated exchange platform about making claims regarding its regulated status. At the same time, the regulators have also cautioned the investors regarding statements from celebrities who may be sharing the message as part of a paid promotion.

Some of the internet users mocked the trading platform for having a logo that looks like FTX exchange. Regulators have tried to raise public awareness by asking them to exercise caution if a trading platform is offering more than 21% returns on top currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT etc.

Meanwhile, JPEX has retaliated by questioning the friendly stance of the regulatory authority towards virtual currencies.