Hong Kong seizes crypto opportunities as Consensus’ Asian host

Hong Kong bolsters its local Web3 industry as it welcomes the world’s top crypto and Web3 summit, Consensus, to launch its Asian debut today, reflecting its growing role as a global hub for virtual asset innovation.

The event, organised by the US crypto news outlet CoinDesk, is one of the industry’s biggest conferences. Expected to draw over 8,000 attendees, including 6,000 international delegates, the conference’s agenda underscores the latest topics and trends in the Web3 space. 

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in the opening talk that Hong Kong would promote the development of the cryptocurrency market by introducing a series of policies, with nine virtual asset trading platform licenses already issued and more in the pipeline.

According to Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, virtual assets now enter the second phase, and Hong Kong is developing a pro-growth strategy.

Leung added that Hong Kong will first complete the legislation on virtual asset activities, followed by expansions of its products and services, and then optimise operational processes, including hot wallet and cold wallet provisions.

Hong Fang, president of OKX, a licensed crypto trading platform in Hong Kong, pointed out that jurisdictions around the world are stepping up the compliance process in the digital asset space as the US accelerates its cryptocurrency regulatory system. 

She emphasised that the clarity of US regulatory policy is triggering a chain reaction in the international market, prompting regulators in different regions to introduce complementary measures in response to industry changes.

However, CoinW, a comprehensive crypto-asset trading company, is still on its way to pursuing a compliance license this year. Man Yeung, the Business Development Manager of CoinW, hopes for more transparent and more explicit guidelines to smooth the application procedure. 

Over the past year, local media have reported cases where virtual currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were accepted as proof of wealth for Hong Kong’s investment immigration scheme. This development, coupled with the establishment of a regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers, has attracted global attention and investment.  

As for the legal construction of the virtual asset ecosystem, the High Court of Hong Kong issued a landmark “Tokenized injunction” to freeze the assets of two fraudulent virtual wallets, setting a precedent for blockchain-based law enforcement in January.

Hong Kong is also actively considering its role in the crypto wave while noting the U.S. SEC’s quick move in the crypto regulatory space.

Hong Kong's cryptocurrency market has attracted customers globally in recent years. Zhang Ran, a 26-year-old entrepreneur in the crypto industry, travelled from mainland China to attend the conference and said that Hong Kong's trading environment is more secure, while in his hometown, the trading of virtual currencies has been banned since 2021. “ I don’t need to worry about the police knocking on my door and arresting me because of participating in crypto trading here,” added Zhang.  

“I have to think about living expenses if I want to establish my start-up here (Hong Kong), ” said Zhang. “However, the high living expenditure may exclude people with moderate backgrounds and make Southeast Asia more desirable in terms of cost saving.”