The Hong Kong government remains committed to the development of cryptocurrency infrastructure despite the ongoing industry crisis caused by the collapse of FTX.
According to Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan, the local government and regulators are open to collaboration with crypto and fintech startups in 2023.
Speaking at an event hosted by state-run incubator Cyberport, Chan stated that Hong Kong has become a base connecting high-quality virtual asset firms, public broadcasting service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported on Jan. 9.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. Source: RTHK
The financial secretary said that the Hong Kong government has received many requests to establish a global headquarters in Hong Kong from cryptocurrency-related companies in the past two months. Many companies in the industry have also expressed their willingness to expand their operations in Hong Kong or list on local stock exchanges, Chan added.
According to the official, Hong Kong is doing its best to provide an adequate amount of oversight to the crypto market in order to unleash the potential of technologies like Web3.
He mentioned that Hong Kong lawmakers passed legislation to establish a licensing system for virtual asset service providers in December. The new regulatory framework is designed to bring the same degree of market recognition to cryptocurrency exchanges that is currently applied to traditional financial institutions.
At the event, Chen also noted that Hong Kong officials and regulators are conducting a series of pilot projects to test the potential advantages of virtual assets and explore related applications. One of the initiatives includes the issuance of tokenized green bonds by the Hong Kong government for subscription by institutional investors, she noted.
Related: Hong Kong lawmaker wants to turn CBDC into a stablecoin with DeFi
Hong Kong has gradually reasserted its pro-crypto stance over the past year, becoming the most crypto-ready country in 2022.
In mid-December, Hong Kong launched its first two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for cryptocurrency futures, which raised more than $70 million before debut. The event came shortly after the head of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announced in October that Hong Kong is willing to distinguish its approach to crypto regulation from the Chinese crypto ban enforced in 2021.
This post Hong Kong Wants To Become Crypto Hub Despite Industry Crisis
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