There is also movement in the field of crypto regulation in Hong Kong, with legislator Johnny Ng describing his perspectives. Among the various highlights, Ng states that Bitcoin should be considered for the country’s strategic financial reserves, provided it is compliant.
Hong Kong and crypto regulation: the legislator sees Bitcoin for fiscal reserves
After the pro-bitcoin speech by the US Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, last Saturday, there is also movement in the field of crypto regulation in Hong Kong.
In fact, the member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Johnny Ng, has stepped forward on X to describe his prospects regarding the inclusion of Bitcoin and Web3.
Former U.S. President Trump recently gave a speech at the U.S. Bitcoin Summit, sharing his views on Bitcoin. Bitcoin and Web3 have already gained the attention and development of countries around the world, and Hong Kong is also actively becoming a hub to promote technological… pic.twitter.com/e1UFCb6g1q
— Johnny Ng 吴杰庄 (@Johnny_nkc) July 28, 2024
First and foremost, Ng stated that Bitcoin and Web3 have become important milestones in the development of globalization. Especially Blockchain technology has solved many innovations in finance and other real-world applications, and for this reason, according to Ng, it should be encouraged in its development on a global level.
Immediately after, the Hong Kong legislator refers to considering Bitcoin as an official financial reserve of a country or region. In this sense, Ng believes it should be considered strategically, given that the global acceptance of BTC, defined as “digital gold,” is continuously increasing worldwide.
The third point of Ng’s speech then talks about the Web3 ecosystem and how Hong Kong is already at the forefront in terms of regulation that encourages its development. In this regard, Ng predicts that the city may soon attract competitive talent and capital, crypto-exchanges and blockchain, crypto projects and companies.
Hong Kong and crypto regulation after Trump’s speech at the Bitcoin Conference
The speech by Ng refers to what was said last Saturday by Donald Trump, the pro-bitcoin candidate for the 2024 US Presidential election.
In fact, even the Hong Kong legislator has emphasized that Bitcoin is seen by the public as “digital gold” in the context of its technology.
At the same time, Trump mentioned gold in his speech intended as an asset that Bitcoin could soon surpass, in terms of market cap.
In this regard, Trump had pointed out how in just 15 years of existence, Bitcoin has managed to conquer the market, currently placing itself in the ninth position as the most valuable asset in the world.
Among his promises, then, Trump spoke of maintaining a “strategic national reserve of bitcoin” and of “never selling” the BTC seized by the government.
From here, even Ng of Hong Kong has opened up to the idea of considering Bitcoin as the official financial reserve of the country or a region. The legislator of Hong Kong emphasizes that the inclusion of Bitcoin in strategic financial reserves, provided that it is compliant.
The legislation of stablecoin
In mid-July, Hong Kong made headlines for outlining a detailed regulation on stablecoins, following a public consultation.
In practice, the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have announced the results of the consultations, and outlined the next steps for the legislative process.
The authorities plan to introduce the bill by the end of the year, with a focus on robust regulations and protections for users.
Among the crucial points, there could be the obligation for stablecoin issuers to obtain a license with the possibility of maintaining reserves in authorized banks in Hong Kong or in other jurisdictions.