Paul Chan asserts that blockchain and Web3 technologies will be responsible for the next development in Hong Kong’s digital tech industry.
Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, has reaffirmed his support for blockchain technology, describing it as the subsequent “breakthrough growth” in the digital technology industry.
In a blog post published on August 27, Chan asserted that Web3’s emerging sectors, including NFTs, GameFi, Play-to-Earn gaming, and immersive entertainment, will lead the next iteration of digital entertainment.
“The core blockchain technology of Web3, with its characteristics of disintermediation, security, transparency, immutability and low cost, can be applied in many fields such as finance, commerce, trade, supply chain management, and even daily life.”
Chan’s statements followed his attendance at the Digital Entertainment Leaders Forum, a three-day blockchain-focused conference hosted in Cyberport, Hong Kong.
Cyberport is a 25-hectare mixed-use tech and multimedia center that offers grants, funding, and office space to various companies in the technology, digital entertainment, and finance industries.
Notably, Chan stated that he had allocated an additional $50 million from this year’s budget to Cyberport earlier this year to expedite the creation of a “vigorous” Web3 ecosystem.
Chan remarked that Cyberport has already amassed over 180 Web3-related technology companies, including startups and fully-fledged exchanges, under its roof and emphasized that 20% of the companies are foreign.
Hong Kong has released new crypto-friendly legislation to position itself as a global hub for digital assets. At the same time, China has maintained a hardline anti-crypto posture for nearly a half-decade.
As part of its ongoing commitment to invest in the megatrend of Web3 development, the particular administrative region of Hong Kong established a Web3 task force to make recommendations on the industry’s sustainable and responsible growth.
HashKey, a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange, announced on August 3 that it had obtained all the necessary licenses to begin offering crypto assets to retail investors, making it the first exchange in Hong Kong to expand its business beyond institutional investors.
