CoinW Twitter Space: Where will become the crypto center of the world, in the next 5 years, Hong Kong, Singapore or Dubai?

In recent years, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai have attracted crypto entrepreneurs, investors and tech talent from around the world with their crypto-friendly regulation and friendly ecosystem. However, which country will become the Blockchain center of the world in the next 5 years among these three crypto hot spots?

At 20:00 on November 15th, Beijing time, the cryptocurrency trading platform CoinW and AsiaMeta.club, co-hosted an online live forum, inviting Zhang Junyong, the former representative of the National People’s Congress of Hong Kong, CoinW Overseas Business Director Sonia Shaw. Industry elites including Professor Chen Bohui, Dean of the Blockchain Industry Research Institute, gathered at the CoinW Twitter Space to engage in comprehensive discussions and interpretations on topics such as policy trends in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai.

Hong Kong seeks a crypto breakthrough:

On October 31, the Hong Kong Financial Secretary (Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau) officially released the “Policy Declaration on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong” to “develop the booming virtual asset industry and ecosystem in Hong Kong, and clarify the government’s policy stance and guidelines”

At the beginning of the forum, Tony Tong, the founder of the Asian Metaverse Alliance and the chairman of the Hong Kong Blockchain Association, pointed out that after a detailed interpretation of the declaration, it released the following trends: 1. Hong Kong authorizes centralized exchanges 2. The exchange can issue tokens; 3. The DeFi business remains open; 4. The exchange is allowed to manage crypto assets; 5. The trading of crypto assets will be open to retail investors. Therefore, the declaration has made a forward-looking positioning for the development and utilisation of crypto assets in Hong Kong, expressing the determination of the Hong Kong government to actively embrace blockchain and crypto assets.

Zhang Junyong, a former representative of the Hong Kong People’s Congress, pointed out that although Hong Kong was an international financial center in the past, the government’s view on DLT (distributed ledger technology) was relatively conservative. From this declaration, we can see the change in the attitude of the Hong Kong government, towards the Blockchain technology and its adoptions. Followers become leaders, which reflects the determination of the Hong Kong government to embrace new financial technologies. In addition, in this post-epidemic period, the Hong Kong government needs to find new bright spots in the economic chaos, so the Hong Kong government has made the digital economy a top priority.

Regarding the change in Hong Kong’s crypto asset policy, Sonia Shaw, global commercial director of CoinW, said that CoinW, as a stable and safe trading platform, has experienced two rounds of bull and bear markets since 2017 and still operates smoothly. With the release of the Hong Kong Declaration, CoinW has started the plan to deploy in Hong Kong, and has successfully contacted institutions and enterprises that focus on blockchain and virtual assets in Hong Kong . She emphasized that CoinW attaches great importance to the development of emerging markets, and CoinW currently has a very high market share in the Vietnamese market. In addition, Africa, the Middle East, South America and other places also have great potential, which are also the markets that CoinW will focus on developing in the past two years. Currently, 16 localized transaction service centers have been established in 13 countries around the world.

Singapore’s tightening crypto policy will further restrict retail investment

Since the “Payment Services Act” came into effect in January 2020, a large number of crypto institutions and platforms have poured into Singapore to develop projects. Singapore has become a safe haven for the crypto industry, and it has also witnessed incidences of the potential illegal activities brought about by cryptocurrencies, which should not be underestimated. Therefore, in the first half of 2022, Singapore has already begun to formulate tightening rules for cryptocurrency investment.

So what is the difference between Singapore and Hong Kong in the development of crypto assets?

In this regard, Chen Baihui, president of the Asian Blockchain Research Institute, pointed out that Singapore and Hong Kong have different audiences and tracks in crypto assets. First of all, Singapore targets institutional investors, and ordinary investors are not allowed to invest in digital currencies. The latest declaration in Hong Kong states that crypto asset trading can be opened to retail investors is a contrast to the Singaporean policy. Secondly, the two sides have different tracks. Although Singapore has expressed its embrace of financial technology, it does not want to become a digital asset trading center, but a financial technology center based on the application of blockchain technology. On the other hand, Hong Kong hopes to build a relatively comprehensive digital asset financial center including investment, licenses, research and development, etc.

Dubai emerges as a rising star in crypto hub

Sonia Shaw, who is based in Dubai, also shared the current status of crypto assets in Dubai. She said that compared with Singapore and Hong Kong, Dubai’s acceptance of blockchain and cryptocurrencies is relatively late, but because the Dubai government itself has a more open attitude towards new technologies and new technologies, coupled with preferential tax policies, so Dubai policie on crypto assets is relatively better.

She also said that compared with Singapore and Hong Kong, Dubai has relatively relaxed government interference or supervision, so it is a very big factor for attracting investment. According to statistics, there are about 1,000 industry institutions in Dubai now, and Dubai is a rising star in the global crypto market.

After more than two hours of heated discussions, the guests believed that Hong Kong has the potential to become a global virtual asset center. At the same time, the participating guests also emphasized that in order to achieve rapid development of virtual assets, it is necessary to believe that the regulatory environment will have a better development of digital assets, and the entire industry needs to have a sound regulatory scheme to enable the healthy development of the Blockchain industry.