Through the Use of a Start-up Accelerator, a Legislator from Hong Kong Hopes to Win Over Web3 Businesses.
Per South China Morning Post (1), G-Rocket (2) is attempting to entice corporations to participate in the industry to bring more commerce to the region.
The startup's leadership team is even more interesting. Although company co-founder Johnny Ng Kit is a member of Hong Kong's legislature, other top executives are actually Chinese investors based in Singapore and Dubai, two of the world's most competitive cryptocurrency markets.
Recent Turmoil in Hong Kong's Crypto Market
In a recent interview, Justin Sun, TRON's founder, asserted (3) that China closely follows Hong Kong's legislative moves on cryptocurrencies. He went on to say that he is especially "bullish" about the market in Hong Kong because it is China's "experiment base."
It is important to note that the research was compiled after the FTX outbreak had a chilling effect on the web3 market. The cryptocurrency trading company Auros, based in Hong Kong and registered there, then disclosed that it is going into provisional liquidation due to ongoing financial difficulties.
As a consequence of the implosion, the Hong Kong-based Atom Asset Exchange (AAX) was also required to cease (4) processing withdrawal requests. As a result of the crisis, severe regulatory action was taken all over the world. The Securities and Futures Commission of HK did not spare time to warn users about the risks associated with staking platforms and exchanges.
Despite numerous concerns from the web3 community, Hong Kong introduced (5) the world's first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on cryptocurrencies.
"CSOP Asset Management has launched a Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETF for retail investors in Hong Kong. Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset Global Investment also filed applications. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange will set its margin rate at 30% and 12% for other instruments."
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 13, 2022
Current State of Crypto in Hong Kong
The Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) bill is scheduled (6) to come into force in the region the following year.
Along with implementing other recently proposed modifications, the licensing system for Bitcoin service providers is scheduled to become operational on June 1, 2023.
The cryptocurrency industry is anticipating that the SFC will impose additional regulatory standards on registered crypto service providers. This new compliance regime will be in addition to the current AML/CFT compliance system.
Despite this, it is clear that the region is still working toward the goal of becoming a crypto hub.
Paul Chan, the financial secretary for Hong Kong, commented (6) in an earlier statement:
"they want to make policy stance clear to global markets, to highlight their resolve to explore financial innovation with the global, virtual-assets community."
The article also mentioned that despite an ongoing bear market, the community of financial technology professionals in Hong Kong is optimistic about the industry's future in the region.
G-Rocket intends to assist one hundred web3 start-ups during the second quarter of 2023 to commence business operations in Hong Kong.
Some of the key partners in G-Rocket are:
