Hong Kong Prepares for Mass Crypto Adoption, Led by Web3 Projects and Regulatory Shifts
Summary:
Jupiter Zheng of Hashkey Capital indicates Hong Kong is prepared for a mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, supported by new Web3 projects and positive crypto regulations. As the city sees an influx of crypto industry talent, he predicts substantial growth in the next five years. Hashkey recently became the first Hong Kong's crypto exchange with a license to offer digital assets to retail investors. Despite a recent scandal involving an uncertified crypto exchange, financial representatives maintain the ambition to turn Hong Kong into Asia's top crypto hub.
According to Jupiter Zheng, a partner at Hashkey Capital, Hong Kong is optimally prepared for the forthcoming surge in widespread cryptocurrency acceptance. His sentiment is linked to the recent influx of expertise in the crypto sector into this aspiring digital asset hotspot. Zheng holds the belief that the combination of emerging Web3 projects and favorable crypto regulations have positioned Hong Kong for unparalleled growth in the coming four to five years.
In addition to exciting fresh start-ups, the founding teams themselves are making a real contribution to GDP. Zheng notes, these teams are causing a surge of activity in both the banking and capital markets sectors. Despite currently stagnant crypto prices, the sophistication and innovation we have observed within the industry over the past year and a half is remarkable, according to Zheng.
He argues that the progress made technologically means Hong Kong is more than ready to embrace the next wave of mass adoption for cryptocurrency. Given the government's pressing need for a fresh economic catalyst, he believes the crypto sector is perfectly poised to fill this void. Especially as Hong Kong's economic performance has been sluggish in recent years largely due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, Zheng sees crypto and Web3 as the new catalysts for growth that Hong Kong requires.
This past August, Hashkey made history by becoming the first crypto exchange in Hong Kong to acquire a license allowing it to offer crypto assets to retail investors. Even though Zheng is not directly implicated within the exchange section of Hashkey, he openly anticipates that with the government continuing to reassure investors by regulating the sector, the demand for crypto products from local Hong Kong residents will skyrocket.
He argues that the latest policy amendments provide an extra layer of security to retail investors as they now have guaranteed legal protections and insurances in place. Furthermore, they no longer have to handle online wallets for self-custody. As it stands, opening a simple exchange account and using Hong Kong dollar to purchase Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrency is now easier than ever.
While we are technically still within a bear market, rapid changes can be expected once the bull market re-emerges. Zheng predicts an imminent surge within the retail sector as more opportunities for secure purchasing from licensed exchanges become available.
In regard to the future, Zheng predicts a pattern of growth within the Web3 industry in Asia and Hong Kong that mirrors the GameFi sector in South East Asia in 2021. In his opinion, while the level of speculation around Axie was exorbitant, the underpinning model of growth will remain the same with projects originating from the United States and Europe gaining acceptance quite easily within the Asian markets.
However, he also gave warning that while overall growth will be slower in South East Asia, there will be a distinct focus on more sober and carefully regulated protocols, as opposed to unfettered speculation on gaming.
An unpleasant fallout from a crypto exchange scandal recently, following the alleged defrauding of investors worth $165 million by an uncertified exchange called JPEX, sent shockwaves through Hong Kong. However, despite this, during the HK Fintech week, the city's secretary for financial services and the treasury reaffirmed their ambitions to turn Hong Kong into the largest crypto center in Asia.
Published At
11/10/2023 5:32:28 AM
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