The rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies and Web3 in Hong Kong is a sign of some “big moves” coming from mainland China. This opinion was expressed by the co-founder of the operator of blockchain games Animoca Brands Yat Siu, writes Cointelegraph.
At the EthCC conference, he recalled that in May, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission published a “White Paper on Web3 Innovation and Development.” Technology in the document was called “an inevitable trend for the future development of the Internet industry.”
According to Siu, Beijing’s budgeting for Web3 development demonstrates the government’s commitment to innovation and decentralized technologies.
“It’s interesting because it’s really not just about what’s happening in Hong Kong. This is really a message that comes, one might say, from above. And Hong Kong would not have done anything without the approval of China,” said the co-founder of Animoca Brands.
During the speech, he also mentioned the security risks associated with the dependence of countries on technology giants such as Google, Apple and Facebook:
“It’s actually another big agenda item, which is why Japan, Korea, China, all these countries are pushing Web3 because they see it as an opportunity to break away from the technologies that are mostly dominant in the US.”
In January 2023, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced that the jurisdiction was ready to accept cryptocurrency companies from all over the world. The official noted that the authorities recently finalized a licensing regime for the industry.
In April, the Hong Kong High Court recognized digital assets as property. In the same month, local authorities called on banks to serve regulated cryptocurrency platforms.
Earlier, the government of the jurisdiction announced the creation of a special group whose main task is to provide recommendations on the sustainable development of Web3, and also proposed to issue its own “stable coin” to compete with USDT and USDC.
Recall that the head of Kaiko, Ambre Subiran, suggested that Hong Kong would “poach” the crypto industry from the United States amid tightening supervision by US regulators.
In October 2022, Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of BitMEX bitcoin exchange, admitted the possibility of China returning to the digital asset industry through jurisdiction.
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