Singapore issued 13 cryptocurrency licenses to a range of cryptocurrency operators in 2024, including OKX and Upbit, as well as Anchorage, BitGo and GSR. This number is twice the number of licenses granted last year. In contrast, Hong Kong's similar approval system is much slower. Analysis points out that both Singapore and Hong Kong are competing to attract virtual asset companies to their markets through specialized systems, tokenization projects and regulatory sandboxes, but progress is uneven. Hong Kong's exchange regulatory system is stricter in many important aspects, such as custody of customer assets and token listing and delisting policies, which may be conducive to Singapore's attractiveness. (Bloomberg)