Hong Kong’s Finance Secretary: Now is the right time for Web3 industry adoption
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Hong Kong’s finance secretary, Paul Chan, officially declared it is the right time for Web3 adoption in Hong Kong.
He mentioned in a Sunday, April 9th blog post that market volatility should not be the center focus. He said the time is ripe for web3 adoption in the Chinese administrative region.
When Chan was creating the country’s financial budget, he had three focus areas, and Web3 technology was one of them.
In his opinion, for Web3 to thrive in the country, there is a need for proper regulation and promotion of development. According to Chan, they plan to ensure adequate supervision and financial security to lower systemic risks. They also plan to do investor education, protection, and anti-money laundering.
Just like many other places, the crypto journey in Hong Kong has been a long one. In October 2022, Hong Kong talked of introducing a bill to regulate crypto. In February this year, the country’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), which regulates local securities, devised a proposal to govern cryptocurrency exchanges. The industry has been having a crypto winter with many exchanges collapses, such as the FTX. According to Chan, this is normal and can be compared to the internet’s process in the early 2000s. He believes we are nearing the end of the bear market cycle, and things will return to normal.
Hong Kong’s approach differs from most places, e.g., the United States. In the US, the SEC is developing regulations every day to ensure the crypto industry is streamlined. This has made it hard for crypto companies making them go offshore. With Hong Kong’s approach, it will attract more crypto companies.
Hong Kong has been very strategic in promoting web3 and crypto adoption. In February, Chan allocated $6.4 million from the country’s annual budget to support investing in Web3 technologies.
Currently, Hong Kong is working on hosting the Digital Economy Summit this week. It will be a two-day event focusing on Web3 technology adoption at the state and global levels.
