At the start of Hong Kong Fintech Week, today the Hong Kong government policy statement It demonstrates a cautious but somewhat open approach to what is called virtual assets (VA).
The first pillar of the policy is a plan to regulate service providers in addition to existing crypto exchange opt-in regulations.
Second, the Securities and Futures Commission will hold public consultations on how to give retail investors an “appropriate degree” of access to cryptocurrencies. I also admit that ETFs It is permitted in other jurisdictions, and is “open to possibility” in Hong Kong.
Finally, we verify ownership of tokenized assets and investigate the legality of smart contracts.
The government also highlighted pilot projects such as: NFTsat Hong Kong Fintech Week eHKD CBDC When Green bond initiatives.
“The government is ready to embrace this future and welcome the fintech and VA community and the clustering of Hong Kong talents to promote the sustainable development of financial services across the VA value chain,” said Christopher Hui. said. Financial Services and Treasury.
The policy statement describes “the entire VA value chain, covering VA issuance, tokenization, trading and payment platforms, funding and asset management, and custody.”
Keep in mind that some Hong Kong cryptocurrency companies have moved to Singapore. Series of talks last weekFor example, Singapore is considering imposing knowledge and education requirements before unaccredited investors can invest in cryptocurrencies.
Allowing Banks to Interact with Crypto Service Providers
HONG KONG emphasized adherence to the principle of “same activities, same risks, same regulations”. It said it plans to regulate service providers for AML and investor protection, similar to what “currently applies to traditional financial institutions.”
The benefit of this enhanced oversight is that it will “enable financial intermediaries and banks to partner with licensed VA exchanges.”
The government’s attention is underscored by its own explanations of the opportunities offered by crypto, highlighting the metaverse, tokenized real-world assets, and CBDC.
“Hong Kong is showing signs of a vibrant VA ecosystem, as demonstrated by the issuance of NFTs in the market, the presence of metaverse developers and the use of DLTs in trade finance,” the policy statement said. increase. “As we look to more use cases, such as trading art and collectibles, tokenizing vintage commodities, and, in the case of financial innovation, tokenizing a wide range of products such as bonds, further opportunities could be realized. ”
