Hong Kong woos mainland China crypto businesses seek finance hub status. Hong Kong welcomes cryptocurrencies to boost its finance center position after years of bankers leaving due to a China security crackdown and COVID-19 restrictions.
Hong Kong is courting mainland China crypto firms to rebase in the city despite controversies and high-profile failures. Mainland 2021 saw China’s cryptocurrency prohibition.
Hong Kong chief executive John Lee is supporting crypto, and the city will host 100 crypto conferences and extravagant parties through April.
Xiao Feng, chairman of Hong Kong crypto exchange HashKey, claimed the government “is very serious about building an international virtual asset centre” on Wednesday when 13,000 people attended the first day of its Hong Kong Web3 Festival, the month’s biggest conference.
HashKey and OSL were granted a Hong Kong crypto exchange license in November.
Xiao said many in the crypto business believed Hong Kong would follow mainland China’s policies. However, the government currently emphasizes that Hong Kong has different laws from mainland China under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.
Many doubt Hong Kong’s assurance of steady cryptocurrency regulation. One crypto venture capitalist, who requested anonymity because of the delicacy of the topic, said he was still worried about China’s crypto prohibition.
“If Hong Kong can suddenly say it is crypto-friendly as if it’s a switch, that switch can be just as suddenly turned off should things get difficult,” he added.
According to corporations and media sources, at least 10 Chinese-founded companies, including OKX, Bybit, and Huobi, have applied for Hong Kong licenses.
These corporations have left Canada and Britain and fund Hong Kong’s fanciest events this week. Bybit hosted an industry dinner with Hiroshima oysters and fish maw soup, while OKX hired a rooftop location with a view of Victoria Harbour.
On Tuesday, crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun told a mostly Chinese-speaking crowd, “I can’t believe that we are having such conferences on Chinese soil.” Sun denied the SEC’s fraud claims and accused the agency of targeting crypto participants.
“Hopefully one day, we will have such events in Shanghai and Beijing,” Sun remarked.
Comment Template