The politics of small steps. Although Hong Kong has only issued three crypto licenses so far, many projects are in the pipeline and the special administrative region would like to be one of them charges Web3 most attractive in the world. But the authorities want to get things right, and some local politicians can’t do it fast enough. Such is the case of one Johnny Ng, a local elected official and local crypto personality, who has just written to the country’s financial authorities to ask for an explanation for the current slowness. Back to the exchange, which confirms what we suspected: Hong Kong will be up to speed (in a way) on many subjects very soon.
- Hong Kong has only issued three crypto licenses, but many projects are in the works to become a major Web3 hub.
- Johnny Ng, a local politician, has called for authorities to slow the pace of cryptocurrency regulation, which could speed things up in the future.
Pro-crypto politician Johnny Ng calls on Hong Kong authorities to regulate cryptocurrencies
This was elected to the Legislative Council in Hong Kongi.e. the House of Representatives of the region, is a former entrepreneur in the technology sector who turned to politics in 2018 and since then has been defending the digital sector in general and the crypto sector in particular. Johnny Ngthat’s his name, i just typed Acting Minister of Financial Services and FinanceJoseph Chan to put the following four points before him and ask for a reply on behalf of the Legislative Council:
- Although the crypto industry is booming around the world, the current regulation on Hong Kong it still needs to be improved. What is the government doing about it?
- The executive plans to create a new department or specialized commission to study and formulate proposals related to the sector crypto assets ?
- As Bitcoin’s qualities have been recognized by several countries and some of them are considering becoming a strategic reserve, what Hong Kong and its sovereign wealth fund?
- The government investigated the impact of such reservations on security Hong Kong and China ? And if so, what is he up to?
The Acting Secretary was well aware of these questions and responded in a speech to the Legislative Council on 11 December.
The (Acting) Minister for Financial Services and the Treasury is ensuring that regulations move quickly
Regarding the development of regulations and advisory bodies related to the issue of crypto-assets, Joseph Chan he reminded that from 2022 the authorities apply the principle “same activities, same risks, same regulations”. However, Financial Services and the Ministry of Finance (BSTF) are responsible for the formulation “relevant principles” and coordinate the various ministries and financial regulatory authorities on the matter. In addition, this year the government amended the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Act to introduce the system license for crypto asset providers.
Finally, consultation public consultation on peer-to-peer exchanges is underway and the licensing regime is also being explored guarding crypto-assets as well as the issuance of stablecoins. Regarding investment from Stock exchange fundsovereign fund of a special administrative region, the acting secretary’s answer is moderately clear:
“The fund invests in globally diversified asset classes and markets in order to spread risks and increase long-term returns (…) and although these crypto-assets are not target assets, it cannot be ruled out that they may during the investment operation of external administrators at different times (…), but the relevant share is minimal. »
Joseph Chan, Acting Minister of Financial Services and Finance – Source: info.gouv.hk
O stability region, recalled that Linked exchange rate system it has operated for more than four decades and that despite numerous business cycles, numerous global and even regional economic and financial crises, it has functioned properly.
In conclusion, Joseph Chan stated that Securities and Futures Commissionlocal regulator, has announced a number of measures it is targeting “to facilitate the development of cryptoassets in Hong Kong” and especially a fast licensing process for crypto platforms and the creation of a “an advisory group for licensed trading platforms to operate from the beginning of next year”. Therefore, Hong Kong stays true to its way of doing things and adopts an Italian saying: chi va piano, va sano e va lontano.