According to Forkast News, FTX creator Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) stated during Hong Kong's FinTech Week 2022 that Hong Kong has the potential to become Asia's Web3 hub.
According to SBF, cities such as Dubai and the Bahamas are emerging as key crypto centers in their respective regions; however, the picture in Asia is much more hazy. While Singapore and Korea have the potential to become crypto centres in the region, SBF believes Hong Kong will take the crown.
He stated:
“If you look at what the world's crypto centres will be, I think the Bahamas seems like one of them, Dubai looks like one of them, but the East is not as evident.” It may be Singapore, or it could be somewhere in Korea like Busan, but I believe it will be Hong Kong.
Hong Kong on Crypto
According to Chainalysis' 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Hong Kong ranks 46 out of 146 nations in terms of crypto adoption levels. According to Gemini's Global State of Crypto, Hong Kong leads the Asia-Pacific region in crypto-adoption, with 24% of the population possessing crypto assets. In 2021, more than half (51%) of Hong Kong's crypto owners purchased their crypto assets.
On October 31, Hong Kong issued a policy statement outlining its ambitions to develop a “vibrant industry and ecosystem” for cryptocurrency. Hong Kong, according to the article, will allow crypto ETFs and adopt pro-crypto regulations. The Hong Kong government has also been working on pilot initiatives such as NFT issuance for Hong Kong Fintech Week, Green Bond Tokenization, and a Central Bank Digital Currency, according to the announcement (CBDC).
Crypto executives agree with SBF
As soon as the statement was made, numerous notable crypto CEOs, including SBF, expressed support for Hong Kong's new motive.
Zheng Zhigang, CEO of New World, also spoke at the Hong Kong Fintech Week and was one of the first to support the declaration.
Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, joined the cheering crowd by quoting the news on Twitter and saying:
“Great news for the entire industry today from Hong Kong, emphasizing support for cryptocurrency and a desire to re-build a dynamic crypto hub.” This development has our full backing.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of 100x, also expressed his excitement and support on his own Twitter account.
TRON (TRX) founder Justin Sun, on the other side, spoke for both TRON DAO and HuobiGlobal and expressed his support.