Topic: Hong Kong officially launches its first Bitcoin and crypto trading platform (Read 488 times)

I think that most people in Hong Kong are not difficult to educate or raise awareness about cryptocurrency or Bitcoin. So for me, the initiative that their government is taking there regarding Bitcoin or crypto that is being spread there is still good.

At least if you have a friend in Hong Kong or you have relatives who will live there, at least there is another alternative way for you to send money there through crypto or Bitcoin, right?

agreed,
lots of people are still hesitant about bitcoin thinking that it is nothing but a pyramid scheme
but with the backing of the government for sure a lot will change their minds about bitcoin and will become interested in participating

the government is cautious about how one can obtain bitcoin without so much as sharing their real name this might allow for increased illegal activities in which the government will definitely eager to lessen or prevent
ive read that it’s still in the talks whether the authorities would be given permission to freeze assets of a person or not as they will

The launch of Hong Kong's first centralized Bitcoin and crypto trading platform, regulated by the government, carries both opportunities and challenges for the local community. On the one hand, it signifies an important step toward broader crypto adoption in the region. As the government is actively regulating it, it could foster trust among users and investors, leading to increased participation in the crypto market.

However, the regulatory oversight may also raise concerns about privacy and control. With full government regulation, there may be limitations on anonymity and personal ownership of crypto assets, as the government could potentially have access to transaction data.

Nonetheless, it's important to note that increased visibility and regulation can contribute to a safer and more transparent crypto ecosystem. This move aligns with the global trend of governments seeking to strike a balance between fostering innovation and protecting against illegal activities within the crypto space.

In the long run, this development could facilitate the mass adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong, as it provides a regulated and secure environment for individuals and businesses to engage with digital assets. The key will be finding the right balance between regulation and privacy to ensure that it benefits both the government and the crypto community at large.

News update.

According to this article Standard Chartered backed Zodia Custody, an institutional custodian for cryptocoins, tokens and assets has entered the Hong Kong market. It appears that we might have more of these types of news from Hong Kong and also maybe Shanghai hehehe.

Inflows from China will be bullish.



Crypto custody solution Zodia Custody, partly owned by the UK multinational banking institution Standard Chartered, is expanding its services to Hong Hong Kong as part of its latest push into the Asian market.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong continues to serve as a major attraction for crypto companies looking to set up businesses in a cryptocurrency-friendly environment.

Source https://cryptopotato.com/zodia-custody-enters-hong-kong-market-report/

Vitalik has raised his concerns on the stability Hong Kong's friendliness on the cryptospace which are expected and unsurprising. However, if China really wants to chase their blockchain ambitions, they certainly will have no choice and accept the reality that they will also need Shanghai to welcome the cryptospace. I speculate that this will be the first sign that China's policies towards the cryptospace will be more stable and it will have a lower chance of being anticrypto again.



Hong Kong legislator Johnny Ng has extended an invitation to Buterin to gain a firsthand understanding of the region's regulatory environment and crypto-related strategies after the Ethereum co-founder questioned the city's crypto-friendliness.

Ng asserted that Hong Kong boasts a stable policy framework for cryptocurrencies, emphasizing that its strategies and regulations have garnered broad social consensus and have undergone comprehensive procedures.

Ng further highlighted the city's willingness to develop policies surrounding virtual assets, welcoming global compliance companies to establish their operations in the region.

Buterin had expressed concerns regarding the long-term crypto-friendliness of Hong Kong.

He noted that while the city currently appears crypto-friendly, it is essential for crypto projects to have confidence in the region's ongoing friendliness, considering potential regulatory, political, and other unforeseen events in the future.

Source https://cryptonews.com/news/hong-kong-lawmaker-addresses-vitalik-buterins-concerns-on-citys-crypto-friendliness.htm

Isn't this country, Hong Kong, still covered by the country of China? Does this mean that what Hong Kong has done is a new beginning and that the country of China is gradually returning to believing in Bitcoin or cryptocurrency? Or could the other big investors in China have already positioned themselves and are preparing for the upcoming bull season in 2024–2025?

Besides that, even if we say that it is a centralized exchange, it is still good news for all communities, not only in Hong Kong but also in the whole world, to know about it. Because that's a big help for Hong Kong citizens who believe in Bitcoin or crypto. Hong Kong is one step ahead of innovation when it comes to the cryptocurrency business industry.

Agreed, the news will not, however I would argue that if you are implying that Hong Kong's regulated entry will never bring in new cashflows that would have a positive effect on the price, you are wrong. It will not only be the small minnows similar to us who will bring inflows of fiat to the cryptomarket. It will also be investment firms, hedgefunds and other types of institutional investors. The China is back storyline and hype will start on 2025 after the institutional investors have fully positioned themselves and retail investors will be their exit liquidity very much similar to the past bull to bear market transitions hehehe.

Even though it's a centralized exchange, I think it's good news for people in Hong Kong that there's a legal way to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum and perhaps do some trading. It's a shame that it's only for Hong Kong, though, as it's only a small part of China. I don't see it as a gateway for Chinese citizens in general if it's that region-locked.
If my country had one region where cryptos could be legally traded with a restriction for the rest of the country, I don't think I'd relocate just for that or that I'd regularly visit just for that. So it's more of an illusion of a gateway to me.

I don’t get you. What do you mean by it’s own bitcoins? Does this mean that it’s own coin which is centralised in nature. If we do proper research, then it can be easily concluded, that the exchanges are also centralised. So they will keep a track of how many Bitcoins or alts you own. So this isn’t a great news for the Hong Kong people to be honest. But yes the Chinese will now have a path to trade the Bitcoins. Let’s see what Hong Kong does next.

I've been in Hong Kong once in 2019 where I have attended the Token 2049 and Ethereum Supermeetup featuring co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Before the event, I have visited some of the Bitcoin ATMs there.

Fast forward to today, I don't think this news would create such impact in Bitcoin's price. Although that this is much better than the outright ban, it's just that you do not have the "keys to the kingdom" to fully control your Bitcoins.

As long they are being controlled and regulated by the Hong Kong government, do not expect full ownership of whatever amount of Bitcoin that you have in these trading platforms being mentioned.

News update.

Hashkey Group's investment firm has declared that they will invest more than half of their funds in altcoins. This very much coincides with the speculation that the Chinese projects that we have not heard of might have the biggest pumps in the cryptospace in a confirmed bull market.

I reckon their strategy might be similar to FTX and Alameda research where the owner of the exchange and the investment firm are from the same group. However, I wish it will be more managed properly hehehehe. Wait for whitelisting announcements from Hashkey.



The Hong Kong crypto investment firm’s portfolio manager said less than half of the fund’s holdings will be in bitcoin and ether, adding that it will instead diversify allocations to altcoins.

HashKey Capital, the investment arm of Hong Kong crypto financial services firm HashKey Group, on Friday launched a secondary market crypto fund that’s set to invest heavily in altcoins, according to a Reuters report.

Reuters reported Thursday that the fund has secured potential clients, including high-net-worth investors and Asian family offices, citing the firm’s portfolio manager, Jupiter Zheng Jialiang. The firm ultimately aims to raise $100 million for the new fund over 12 months, according to Reuters. HashKey Capital, which has over $1 billion in assets under management, closed its third venture fund at $500 million in January.

Source https://www.theblock.co/post/248631/hashkey-capital-forms-liquid-fund-with-heavy-altcoin-focus-reuters



Cointelegraph sometimes are very bullish and misinterpret news reports. However, another news update from China.



A People’s Court in China published a report on the legality of virtual assets, analyzing the criminal law attributes of these digital assets. The court noted in its report that virtual assets under the current legal policy framework are still legal property and protected by law.

The report titled “Identification of the Property Attributes of Virtual Currency and Disposal of Property Involved in the Case” acknowledged that virtual assets have economic attributes and thus can be classified as property, reported a local daily. Although China has deemed all foreign digital assets illegal by imposing a blanket ban, the report argues that virtual assets held by individuals should be considered legal and protected by law under the current policy framework.

Source https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-court-declares-virtual-assets-as-legal-properties-protected-by-law-report

Some days ago I booked my Hong Kong flight which is in some days.
When I am there I will check if there is something new to report on. Some months ago when I was there it was crypto heaven, thanks to these news maybe it becomes even better.

I wish life in Japan regarding to crypto would be as smooth as over there!!

Well, this is surely big news. However, there is of course a positive and negative effect that this launch has. First, it will cause a positive effect in a way that more people will hear about Bitcoin and be interested in it, high interest means possibly more people joining and using it. However, the counterpart of this is that the government will be able to have control over it, and privacy and security will possibly be out of the window. Additionally, there is the possibility of tax being applied as it is the most possible move the government can make to get something out of this. Lastly, there is also the issue of China banning Bitcoin trading, I'm sure Hong Kong will have to answer to some limitation regarding this as China still have some sort of legal authority with Hong Kong.

Generally, this change will have a positive effect on the popularity of Bitcoin, but it will surely have a negative effect on security and legal discussion in the long run.

No doubt it is good news but for your kind information Hong Kong government is not fully independent as it is a semi-autonomous region which means the Hong Kong government is in the hands of China up to a certain limit and I appreciate the move of Hong Kong to words bitcoin as china's government ban it in their counrty.
Besides this HashKey which is a cryptocurrency exchange take two types of license from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. The first one is the Type 1 license which allows HashKey to launch a virtual asset trading platform under Hong Kong securities laws and the second one is the Type 7 license which allows the exchange to offer automated trading services to institutes and retail users.

As far as I know, in Hong Kong, and without any exchanges, the crypt felt quite well. Why was it officially done? To collect taxes from people. After all, before this event, the majority simply ignored this aspect, and such a thing is not included in the plans of the state. I don't see any other explanation.
What? Will crypto become more popular? Does this area need it? I do not think so. Popularity to this day is quite good. If only all of China would adopt a single law that allows the free circulation of all cryptocurrencies, then the process would go in a completely different direction.
Hong Kong has become a kind of test experimental zone.

The Chinese government have come to a realization that they are the ones on the losing it, despite their ban on cryptocurrency the citizens still pull off some channels to continue in their use of cryptocurrency. Initiating a centralized exchange platform for the adoption of crypto trading is a win win action for both the HongKong government and her citizens.

The government in their regulatory policies over the platform also benefits in tax remittance to them while the citizens are insured of their money under the platform since it owned by the government there's security of their funds to be refunded if anything should go wrong with the exchange unlike other exchanges run by private individuals and groups.

Setting the pace, the success of this on the economy of China in the next few years can attract other governments to follow same route in bitcoin adoption in their country paving way for more bitcoin adopters.

yet still we are waiting for what would be the effect from market , because this happens already but the market stays lowering ,
what I was looking is the positive effect and how much that Hongkong people contribute in using the exchange.
but since Hongkong is already separated from china(hope they are truly are)
then there will be an impact to happen in the coming months .

China has no choice, I reckon. They will need all sources of liquidity to energize their economy after their strict coronavirus lockdowns. I speculate that within the next 2 years we might witness a regulated exchange open in Shanghai to encourage inflows of liquidity through the cryptospace. If they do not do this, all these cashflows will instead go to the jurisdictions surrounding them hehehe.

Big W for Asia and I am proud of it.
If China really doesn't want it then for sure there must be no Bitcoin firm just like this newly launched Hongkong trading platform at all in China locations even in Hong Kong.
For sure they are cooking something.

Although what you say is true and we want more people to use bitcoin what my colleague says has a point in favor, it is excellent news that Japan and other regions continue to promote this, it is actually what most expect, but We cannot cover our eyes and not realize that what they do always leads to centralization, it is difficult for governments not to have control over something, for this reason they will always look for a way for things to be done under laws and terms, so that they do not it gets out of hand and it's not that only this country is looking for this it's something that happens in general, everyone when they create their maneuvers to allow bitcoin and cryptocurrencies they do it with this approach, maybe for that reason they retract their decisions later and they change the whole panorama, once again restricting digital assets by not achieving their goal, it is sad but it is the reality, they still do not understand the magic of bitcoin and how to really use it.. I just hope that despite this the market moves in favor and we can see reasonable increases in the graphs.