Hong Kong Reaffirms Commitment to Become Regional Crypto Hub


At a Web3 summit on January 9 in Cyberport, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po reiterated the city's commitment to cryptocurrency. The financial secretary stressed that Hong Kong is still dedicated to being a regional hub for cryptocurrencies, saying that “As certain crypto exchanges collapsed one after another, Hong Kong "became a quality standing point for digital asset corporates."
The strong regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong, he continued, "matches worldwide norms and standards."
The city of Hong Kong is getting ready to award more licences for digital asset trading companies, according to Joseph Chan, the undersecretary for financial services and the Treasury for the government of Hong Kong. In order to examine the possibility of retail participation in the industry, it is also preparing a consultation on cryptocurrency platforms.
Despite the failure of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and numerous other crypto businesses declaring bankruptcy, Hong Kong is attempting to establish itself as a regional centre for cryptocurrency. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of the city warned about the dangers of cryptocurrency platforms that provide services for deposits, savings, earnings, and staking in a statement released last month.
Hong Kong is pushing to make it simpler for regular investors to trade crypto assets after years of stringent regulations. Director of licencing and head of the SFC's fintech division Elizabeth Wong stated in October last year: “We’ve had four years of experience in regulating this industry... We think that this may be a good time to really think carefully about whether we will continue with this professional investor-only requirement.”
Another SFC officer, Julia Leung, stated the regulator is actively seeking to establish a regulatory framework that permits retail investors to trade exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to cryptocurrency futures in November of last year. The first cryptocurrency futures ETFs were introduced in the city in December.

Joyashree Dey
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA