The financial secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, has called on the city to embrace Web3 despite market fluctuations. Chan believes that now is the “right time” for Hong Kong to push forward with Web3, one of three significant directions proposed in the city’s budget. Chan’s comments come as Hong Kong society returns to normal and fully restores external relations.
Web3 development in Hong Kong
According to Chan, Web3, the third-generation internet, has great potential for development and has aroused positive responses from society.
Hong Kong has recently hosted four large-scale seminars or carnivals related to Web3, digital economy, financial technology, and more. These events have been attended by more than 10,000 people.
On Thursday and Friday, the SAR government and Cyberport will jointly hold the “2023 Digital Economy Summit,” with representatives from various sectors including business, industry, and academia.
The summit will deconstruct future trends such as smart cities, data innovation, financial technology, artificial intelligence, big data, Web3, smart mobility, and new industrialization.
Chan’s vision for Web3
Chan believes that Web3 is going through the same process that the internet did in the early 2000s. After the bubble burst, market participants became calmer, and the remaining players focused more on competing in technological innovation, practical application, and value creation.
The same will happen with Web3. The next stage requires market participants to develop blockchain technology more deeply, allowing its characteristics and advantages to find wider application scenarios and solve more existing problems.
In order for Web3 to steadily take the road of innovative development, Chan has adopted a strategy that emphasizes both “proper regulation” and “promoting development.”
In terms of proper supervision, Hong Kong will ensure financial security and prevent systemic risks. Additionally, Hong Kong will do a good job in investor education and protection, and anti-money laundering.
Under the principle of “same activities, same risks, same regulation,” Hong Kong will introduce a licensing system for virtual asset service providers in June this year.
Furthermore, Chan has allocated $50 million to Cyberport in the new budget to accelerate the development of the Web3 ecosystem in Hong Kong.
This includes holding international large-scale seminars, so that the industry and enterprises can better grasp cutting-edge developments and promote cross-sector business cooperation. Additionally, more youth workshops will be organized to cultivate talent in the field.
The global competition for the development of Web3 is deepening, and the competition is about who can create the largest space for application and innovation under the premise of controllable risks. Chan believes that Web3 has the potential to improve the quality of the real economy.
Web3’s characteristics and advantages of transparency, efficiency, security, disintermediation, de-platformization, and low cost can solve more existing problems.
The city is committed to developing the Web3 ecosystem, and the government is taking a strategic approach to promoting the high-quality development of Hong Kong’s digital economy.
The future of Web3 in Hong Kong looks promising, and the city will continue to take steps to ensure responsible and sustainable development.
