The rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies and Web3 in Hong Kong is a sign of some ‘big steps’ emanating from mainland China, according to Yat Siu, co-founder of the blockchain-game operator Animoca Brands, Cointelegraph reports.
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At the EthCC conference he reminded that in May the Beijing Municipal Commission on Science and Technology published “White Paper on Web3 Innovation and Development”. Technologies in the document were described as an “inevitable trend for the future development of the internet industry”.
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In Siu’s view, Beijing’s allocation of a budget for Web3 development demonstrates the government’s commitment to fostering innovation and deploying decentralized technologies.
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“This is interesting, because it is really not just about what is happening in Hong Kong. It is truly a message that comes, you could say, from on high. And Hong Kong would not do anything without China’s approval,” said the co-founder of Animoca Brands.
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During his presentation he also mentioned risks to security associated with dependence of countries on tech giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook:
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“In fact, this is another important item on the agenda, so Japan, Korea, China, all these countries are promoting Web3 because they see in it an opportunity to break away from technologies predominantly dominated in the United States”.
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In January 2023, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan stated the readiness of the jurisdiction to welcome cryptocurrency companies from around the world. The official noted that authorities had recently completed work on the licensing regime for the industry.
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In April the Hong Kong High Court recognised digital assets as property. In the same month local authorities urged banks to service regulated crypto platforms.
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Earlier, the jurisdiction’s government announced the creation of a dedicated group, the main task of which is to provide recommendations for the sustainable development of Web3, and proposed to issue its own ‘stablecoin’ to compete with USDT and USDC.
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Earlier, Kaiko’s Ambre Subiran suggested that Hong Kong would lure the crypto industry away from the United States amid tightening oversight by American regulators.
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In October 2022, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes allowed for the possibility of China’s return to the digital-asset industry via the jurisdiction.