Hong Kong? Singapore? Tokyo? Seoul? Dubai? The race is on for the Web3 hub of Asia
- OKX and Bitget have applied for licenses in Hong Kong, while data provider Kaiko and exchange Huobi are moving their Asia headquarters to Hong Kong from Singapore
- Other Asian cities want a piece of the action, with Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Dubai all positioning themselves to be a part of this new digital asset economy
In a special two-part series, Forkast. News examines the potential of Hong Kong and other emerging cryptocurrency hubs in Asia.
“Hong Kong will more than likely become not just Asia’s cryptocurrency hub, but the de facto cryptocurrency hub globally,” Vincent Chok, chief executive officer of Hong Kong-based consultancy First Digital Trust, told Forkast. “The US is in a holding pattern with its regulation paralysis, and Dubai has ambitions to become a cryptocurrency hub, but in terms of innovation, Hong Kong still leads.”
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Gracy Chen, managing director of Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, agreed: “The development of Web3 in Hong Kong is [due to] right timing, right place and right people.”
But other cities and countries in Asia want a piece of the action, with Singapore, Japan, South Korea as well as Dubai all positioning themselves to be a part of this new digital asset economy. And the stakes are high.
Hong Kong’s Web3 push includes US$6.4 million in funding and a new task force
Hong Kong is drawing up new rules of the road for the digital asset industry at a time when US regulators have come under criticism by the same industry for slapping fines and filing lawsuits on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The argument from the trading platforms is the US is failing to set clear regulations for how the industry should operate, yet punishing them anyway.
US lawmakers slam SEC head over crypto crackdown, driving firms to China
“The US regulatory framework for cryptocurrency exchanges is complex and evolving, with different rules and requirements at the federal and state levels,” said Bitget’s Chen. “Wyoming, Colorado, and Ohio, have introduced cryptocurrency-friendly laws as they want to attract the industry. Others, like New York and Washington, have strict cryptocurrency requirements.”
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“We have seen US regulatory agencies aggressively handling their relationships with cryptocurrency firms, even going as far as outright suing them. This contrasted with Europe or the Middle East where governments have been building friendlier environments for some time now,” Denys Peleshok, head of Asia at London-based financial trading firm CPT Markets, told Forkast.
“The initiatives taken by Hong Kong could help nurture a stronger local cryptocurrency industry and help attract firms from other countries and from China in particular,” Peleshok added.
Singapore’s Temasek writes down US$275 million investment in FTX
“Public and media attention has tended to focus on cryptocurrencies. But cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges are just one part of the entire digital asset ecosystem,” MAS told Forkast last month.
G20 chair India calls for uniform crypto regulations as Asian markets grow
“If other countries are restricting and expelling companies, and if Hong Kong can accept these companies conditionally, then this will be a favourable factor for the development of Web3 in Hong Kong,” David Li, Chairman and CEO of Singapore-based Web3 development company GreaterHeat told Forkast.
Part 2 of this two-part series explores developments in Hong Kong and else where in Asia, and will be published tomorrow.