Hong Kong has become a premier global destination for Web3 and digital assets, with its approval of digital currency ETFs and favorable regulations opening up new opportunities for investors and innovators, says the region’s top finance official.
Christopher Hui, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, revealed in a recent statement that he had been on a European tour, visiting Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal. While there, he marketed Hong Kong as a virtual assets haven.
“In terms of financial innovation, I introduced to local regulators and the financial industry in Europe how Hong Kong, as a pioneer in embracing the development of Web 3.0, has recently promoted market development from various aspects such as regulation formulation, product innovation and government financing,” stated Hui.
Hong Kong has aggressively promoted its digital asset vision over the past two years. Positive regulations, an easier registration process (although it’s still costly and can hit $25 million), and a push to commercial lenders to serve VASPs has paid dividends, with the city-state attracting some key industry leaders.
A recent report revealed that more leading brokerages in Hong Kong now offer digital asset services, including stablecoin deposit and withdrawal services.
Hui says that Hong Kong is working on other policies to better protect investors, including “the supervision of stable currency issuers and the regulation of over-the-counter trading services.”
The region also approved spot ETFs, following America’s lead, which launched in late April. While they have failed to attract as much hype or investment as their American counterparts, says Hui, the ETFs are still a landmark achievement for Hong Kong.
“It is worth noting that Hong Kong has pioneered a physical subscription and redemption mechanism, allowing investors to have greater flexibility when subscribing and redeeming virtual asset ETF units,” he said.
Hong Kong is also pushing to become a leader in tokenizing real-world assets, a sector projected to be worth trillions of dollars by the decade’s end. One study estimates that tokenization will add $20 billion to the region’s GDP.
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