The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission collaborates with multiple international regulators to crack down on illegal crypto world influencers, while Taiwan has yet to respond.

In today's rapidly developing social media landscape, "Finfluencers" have become a popular channel for many investors to obtain information. However, some influencers promote financial products without authorization, and the risks are increasingly evident. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently been actively involved in international cooperation efforts to launch a series of regulatory, enforcement, and educational initiatives targeting such illegal activities, fully protecting investor safety.

International Joint Action: Crackdown on Unlicensed Financial Influencers

The Securities and Futures Commission closely cooperated with members of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and participated in an initiative called "Global Week of Action Against Unlawful Finfluencers" in early June 2025. This international action aims to combat the illegal promotion of financial products by multinational influencers.

The actions cover education and promotion, regulatory oversight, and law enforcement actions, with participating countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates, indicating that combating illegal financial information has become a common concern for global financial regulation.

Liang Fengyi: International cooperation helps amplify regulatory effectiveness.

SFC Chief Executive Officer and IOSCO Asia Pacific Committee Chairperson Leung Fung-yee said that financial influencers' illegal activities often operate across borders and local regulation alone is difficult to comprehensively address, so international harmonization has become key. "The SFC fully supports a multi-pronged international strategy to enhance regulatory effectiveness through monitoring, enforcement and education," she emphasised.

Ms. Liang also urged investors to stay vigilant, emphasizing the importance of "personal responsibility." She reminded the public to verify whether the financial influencer is licensed and whether the information is reliable before making any investment decisions, and to avoid blindly following the luxurious image promoted by influencers.

Strengthening Regulation: The Securities and Futures Commission will begin thematic inspections in April.

At the local level, the Securities and Futures Commission proactively took action as early as April 2025, launching a thematic inspection targeting the collaboration between brokerage firms and financial influencers in promoting financial products. The investigation focuses on whether brokerage firms have conducted appropriate due diligence on collaborating influencers and whether they monitor their behavior for any involvement in unlicensed activities.

In the future, the Securities and Futures Commission will issue relevant guidelines to licensed corporations, clearly regulating the standards to be followed when using influencers or digital platforms for financial promotion, in order to ensure lawful and compliant promotion.

Demand overseas exchanges to stop cooperating with influencers.

In terms of law enforcement, the Securities and Futures Commission has taken concrete actions, including the temporary suspension of the license of a financial influencer convicted of providing illegal investment advice, and the initiation of criminal prosecution procedures against another individual suspected of operating without a license.

In addition, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has communicated with overseas virtual asset platforms to urge them to terminate collaborations with influencers and cease promotional activities directed at the Hong Kong public. At the same time, the SFC has also collaborated with social media platforms to delete accounts and posts impersonating celebrities and promoting unapproved products, successfully dismantling several illegal promotional activities.

Currently, Taiwan does not have clear regulations regarding virtual asset influencers, and everything is still under discussion for a special law. According to the content of the public hearings so far, the behavior of virtual asset influencers is difficult to define and is not a priority topic for discussion in the special law.

Enhancing investor awareness: comprehensive education and promotion

To further strengthen fraud awareness, the Securities and Futures Commission continues to implement investor education through multiple channels. Its "List of Unlicensed Companies and Suspicious Websites" and the latest "International Securities and Commodities Alerts List" (I-SCAN) launched by IOSCO provide the public with timely and reliable verification tools.

In addition, the Securities and Futures Commission's anti-fraud brand "Don't Be a Fish" also widely reminds investors to be aware of influencer scams and investment traps through original short videos on Instagram, community outreach activities, TV commercials, and special programs.

In the coming months, the Securities and Futures Commission will launch more targeted publicity programs to enhance the public's awareness of investment fraud and establish a safer information environment for the market.

This article discusses how the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, in collaboration with multiple regulatory authorities, is cracking down on illegal cryptocurrency influencers, while Taiwan has yet to respond. It first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.