LTP, a Hong
Kong-based prime broker for digital assets, said today (Monday) it has secured
an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) from the country’s securities
regulator, clearing it to advise on and deal in financial products for
wholesale clients as it pushes further into tokenized real-world assets.
The license,
granted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, covers
securities, managed investment schemes and deposit and payment products,
according to the firm.
LTP said
the permissions are limited to wholesale clients, which means it cannot use the
license to serve retail investors in the country. That puts LTP inside ASIC’s
broader effort to bring stablecoins and tokenized
assets under existing financial law, but only for institutional money.
Founder and
Chief Executive Jack Yang believes “that the future of finance lies in the
tokenization of financial instruments.”
A Wholesale License, Not a
Retail One
The
wholesale limit matters. Australia’s licensing regime applies across the
market, yet LTP’s new authorization stops short of everyday traders. The firm
pitched the license as a gateway for funds, market makers and asset managers
rather than retail customers.
LTP tied
the move to the growth of tokenized real-world assets, the on-chain versions of
things like real estate, private credit and digital debt.
Under ASIC
guidance, most of those structures count as managed investment schemes or
securities, the same categories LTP is now cleared to handle.
The firm
said that classification is the point, giving it a regulated route to the
assets it wants to service. The wider market for tokenized real-world assets has drawn interest from large
managers including BlackRock, though on-chain volumes remain small next to the
headline forecasts often cited for the sector.
LTP did not
disclose client numbers, pricing or any revenue from its Australian operations.
Timing Lands Close to
ASIC’s June 30 Deadline
LTP’s
announcement arrives at a tense moment for digital asset firms in Australia.
Parliament passed the Corporations Amendment
(Digital Assets Framework) Bill on April 1, requiring crypto platform operators to hold an AFSL, and
the regulator’s no-action relief runs out on June 30.
Firms that
miss the cutoff lose protection from enforcement and face civil and criminal
penalties that can reach 10% of annual turnover. Of roughly 400 crypto platforms
registered in the country, only about 10% held ASIC licences as of April.
Australia
is also not the only deadline in play. The cutoff is one of four overlapping APAC licensing
regimes landing in
the second quarter, alongside new rules in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea,
according to FM Intelligence research.
Crypto Prime Brokers Race
to Get Regulated
LTP is not
alone in chasing regulated status. Ripple rebranded the brokerage it acquired,
Hidden Road, as Ripple Prime and launched a US spot prime brokerage for institutions in November
2025, routing digital asset swaps through an FCA-regulated UK entity.
Deus X
Capital built out Cor Prime, a digital asset prime broker aimed
at sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and hedge funds. Both, like LTP, are
trying to package crypto access in a form institutions already recognize.
Part of a Multi-Country
License Push
The
Australian approval extends a licensing run for LTP. The firm acquired Spain’s Turing Capital
Brokerage last year
for a MiCA-registered European entity, launched an OTC trading platform for institutions, and partnered with UK technology
provider Gold-i to
distribute its crypto and FX liquidity.
LTP had
already been building an Australian presence, naming former CMC Markets
executive Eric Wang as its head of the country earlier. The firm said it now holds
licenses and registrations in Hong Kong, Australia, the United Arab Emirates,
the British Virgin Islands and Spain.
Whether
that thesis holds will depend on how fast institutional money actually moves
on-chain, a shift the industry has forecast for years with uneven results.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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