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Hong Kong Emerging as Crypto Hub Amid East Asia’s Regulatory Challenges – Is China Reversing Course?

Despite Eastern Asia, previously a dominant player, experiencing a dip in cryptocurrency engagements in recent times, Chainalysis, a research company, believes Hong Kong might offer a rejuvenating momentum for the region.

As Hong Kong ascends as a pivotal figure in the globally regulated digital currency space, the implications for the entirety of China remain ambiguous. However, this surge might hint at a potential “evolution” in Beijing’s perspective on the cryptocurrency sector.

The Region’s Decline

Eastern Asia currently ranks as the fifth most vibrant cryptocurrency market, contributing to 8.8% of the global crypto transactions from July 2022 to June 2023, as indicated by Chainalysis.

The research firm highlighted, “The noticeable drop in Eastern Asia’s cryptocurrency involvement in recent years is significant.” As recent as 2019, the region dominated the crypto landscape in terms of transaction volume, which was “predominantly fueled by China’s immense trading and mining operations.”

However, the monetary value of cryptocurrency transactions throughout China saw a decline, a result of Beijing intensifying its restrictive measures on digital assets.

However, Chainalysis posits,

“There’s an emerging hope for East Asia, stemming from Hong Kong. A series of crypto-based endeavors and pro-industry regulations introduced in the recent year have ignited a surge of optimism.”

This progressive stance in Hong Kong has sparked discussions, hinting that Beijing might be gradually shifting towards a more favorable view on cryptocurrencies. Some even suggest that Hong Kong could be serving as an experimental platform for China’s future endeavors in the crypto domain.

Dave Chapman, the founder of the Hong Kong-centric OTC company, OSL Digital Securities, shared insights with Chainalysis, stating,

“Using Hong Kong’s burgeoning crypto profile as a gauge for China’s official stance on digital assets may be misleading. Nonetheless, there’s an undeniable trend of Chinese state-affiliated bodies indirectly backing Hong Kong’s Web3 initiatives. This can be interpreted as a cautious, hands-off method to grasp digital assets without a dramatic shift in mainland protocols.”

Interestingly, when assessed purely on transaction volume, Hong Kong stands out as a fervently active cryptocurrency market. Over a span of a year, the region received crypto transactions worth $64 billion. This is impressive, especially when juxtaposed against mainland China’s $86.4 billion, given that Hong Kong’s population is merely 0.5% that of mainland China.

The report further emphasized that a considerable portion of this volume can be attributed to the dynamic over-the-counter (OTC) market prevalent in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Attracting Foreign Users

Merton Lam, the founder of the Hong Kong-centric OTC company, CryptoHK, shed light on the clientele of his firm, noting a significant number of foreign users. Their primary motivation is to safeguard their wealth, especially those hailing from volatile economies or regions with stringent capital regulations.

He shared, “From conversations with other crypto trading platforms, I’ve gathered that a sizable number of Russians and Ukrainians are resorting to Hong Kong as a means to secure their finances via cryptocurrency. It’s noteworthy that this isn’t just the affluent elite. Everyday individuals are also partaking in this trend.”

Merton Lam also highlighted the growing preference for international payments using cryptocurrency in the region. He observed that for many businesses, using stablecoins as a transactional medium proves far more efficient than traditional banking channels when it comes to settling dues with suppliers.

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I want to save money. Will cryptocurrency work?

Cryptocurrency is essentially virtual money that operates in a decentralized manner, not through a bank but directly on multiple independent computers.

Every cryptocurrency has two main components: the units of digital exchange called “coins” and the network within which the exchange takes place. These units can be transferred between wallets and exchanged on exchanges. The networks in which these coins exist are called blockchains, which translates to “chains of blocks.”

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