Hong Kong signals commitment to developing the crypto industry

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the jurisdiction is ready to welcome cryptocurrency companies from around the world, according to 8BTC.

The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong CHAN Mo-po said #HongKong welcomes #cryptocurrency companies from around the world.

— 8BTCnews (@btcinchina) January 9, 2023

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The official noted that authorities recently completed work on a licensing regime for the industry. Under the rules, crypto companies are subject to the same requirements as the traditional financial sector.

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In December, accelerator G-Rocket announced that it would help open up business for 1000 startups in the Hong Kong Web3 sphere Web3 over the next three years. The company launched the Hong Kong Web3.0 Hub initiative in November after authorities announced their intent to develop the virtual assets industry.

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At the end of 2022, trading began on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange began trading two ETFs tied to US-listed cryptocurrency futures.

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This came after, in October, the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau published a statement easing restrictions on cryptocurrencies and a willingness to engage with virtual asset service providers.

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The regulator noted at the time that the region is also open to sectoral exchange-traded funds, and announced the introduction of appropriate regulatory mechanisms and investor protections.

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Earlier, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes suggested that China is looking to to return to the crypto industry via Hong Kong.

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