The city of Hong Kong takes cryptocurrencies seriously. After three years of fighting COVID-19, the city is once again vibrant and flourishing as business executives and tourists of all kinds return to Asia's financial hub. New guidelines from the Securities and Futures Commission are paving the way.
Since Hong Kong FinTech Week last year, regulators have been creating a comprehensive licensing regime for digital assets. Regulated under the principle of “same business, same risks, same rules”, digital assets are now approached with rules similar to those of traditional financial institutions. This has led to watershed moments for the industry this year, such as when Hong Kong-licensed exchange HashKey launched a digital asset trading app and several traditional financial institutions received relevant licenses allowing them to offer retail digital asset trading. .
This was made possible by the Hong Kong government's comprehensive strategy to make the city a desirable Web3 hub. It began with the goal of improving foreign investment and talent recruitment.
The Hong Kong government sees the digital asset industry as a driving force behind its immigration and foreign investment in the city. Other measures the Hong Kong government has taken in this area include: announcing a series of policies focused on attracting foreign family offices with tax incentives and launching a plan allowing bitcoin to be purchased through supported exchanges, which is currently being considered by the Hong Kong Investment Immigration Department. Program.
By attracting foreign investment and top talent, city leaders hope to regain business confidence and a more diverse digital economy. In addition, the updated talent immigration plan is designed to attract high-income earners and foreign graduates from top universities. So far, the Secretary of Labor revealed that the office has received more applications than expected. All of these efforts will lay a stronger foundation for the city to have a diverse talent pool for the digital economy.
Digital asset licensing has opened opportunities to create powerful Hong Kong-based crypto companies. At Metalpha, we recently obtained an upgrade to our Type 4 (securities advisory) license. This will allow us to expand our efforts in advisory and issuance analysis, and will allow us to publish reports for qualified investors on digital assets. This is a milestone for us and further demonstrates SFC's confidence in our business approach.
In fact, since the beginning of this year, we have seen strong demand from family offices and public companies asking how to invest in bitcoin in a compliant way. Smart investors who see through the noise and beyond the negative headlines are being rewarded with clear opportunities to grow and profit from cryptocurrencies and Web3. I believe that more companies will apply for licenses to attract investment, increase their business credibility and, as a result, seek new opportunities.
A recent story reported by the Financial times shows that Hong Kong is expected to overtake Switzerland as the world leader in cross-border wealth management as Asia leads growth. This massive global wealth shift presents a huge opportunity for investors seeking digital assets. As regulations for the digital asset industry become clearer in the coming years, Hong Kong will stand out as a city that offers a balanced approach to innovation and risk assessment.
Looking ahead to the new year, I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to play a key role in building the Web3 hub and enter into greater direct competition with Singapore, which had a first-mover advantage in crypto. And this is a good thing. Investors should have more options to choose the best crypto projects or companies to work with. As for customers, trust will increase once they know that their service provider is safe and compliant in the eyes of regulators.
This is a guest post by Adrian Wang. The opinions expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of btc Inc or bitcoin Magazine.
