The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) remains committed to expanding its cryptocurrency infrastructure and becoming a cryptocurrency hub.

According to the news report shared by the local public broadcasting service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), the HKSAR Government’s ambitions were revealed by Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po.

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During his speech, Paul Chan Mo-Po claimed that “leading innovation and technology companies,” as well as high-tech start-ups, have shown interest in starting to operate in Hong Kong.

It is worth noting that the desire to operate in Hong Kong may be caused by the news that Hong Kong is considering launching its own crypto bill, breaking away from China’s crypto regulations.

Chan Mo-Po revealed that the HKSAR Government has recently completed setting up “a licensing system for virtual asset service providers.” In the speech, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary noted that crypto-related firms are set to follow the same requirements as traditional financial institutions. In particular, it applies to anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, and investor protection requirements.

Therefore, Chan Mo-Po emphasized that HKSAR Government is doing what it can to supervise the crypto market.

On top of that, Chan Mo-Po revealed that HKSAR Government does not rule out the possibility of launching several pilot projects to test virtual assets, their technical advantages and “explore related applications.”

During the same event, the deputy director of the Financial Affairs and Treasury Bureau, Chen Haolian, revealed that Hong Kong’s Securities Regulatory Commission is creating regulatory rules for virtual asset exchanges. Haolian claimed that the institution hopes to start public consultation as soon as possible.

by Gile K. – Crypto Analyst, BitDegree