Paul Chan, the finance secretary of Hong Kong, said when he was speaking at the Web3 summit at Cyberport that Hong Kong would continue to drive the expansion of the Web 3 sector as it aspires to be the centre for the booming business. Cyberport is located in Hong Kong.
According to a story that was published by a local news outlet, Paul Chan indicated that Hong Kong is still dedicated to expanding into a regional crypto center and would attempt to attract new enterprises from all over the globe.
Chan said that the FTX crisis was a precursor to Hong Kong being a quality standing point for digital asset corporates. He stated that Hong Kong became a quality standing place for digital asset corporates when certain crypto exchanges crashed one after another.
According to the finance secretary, the city’s stringent regulatory framework complies with international norms and standards and prohibits free riders from operating inside the system. Hong Kong is getting ready to provide further licenses to businesses that deal in digital assets.
According to Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, the city is also planning to organize a consultation on cryptocurrency platforms in order to investigate the possibility of retail participation in the industry. Information regarding this consultation will be made public very soon.
A policy statement on virtual assets was released by the Hong Kong government back in October of last year. The government has declared that it is ready to engage with international Virtual Assets exchanges and has extended an invitation to such exchanges to visit Hong Kong to discuss the possibility of forming new commercial partnerships.
Chan said that in reaction to the city’s policy pronouncement, some of the most successful startups and technology businesses are considering relocating their headquarters or extending their operations to Hong Kong, although he did not name the companies.
According to Chan’s comments, “We just finished the legislative process for licensing virtual asset service providers, and the new policy will come into force in June.”
Chan continued by saying that under the new framework, the standards for crypto exchanges would be similar with those that are in place for traditional financial institutions in terms of preventing the laundering of illicit funds and ensuring the safety of investors.
Compiled by Coinbold
