Legislator Johnny Ng from Hong Kong has revealed intentions to start conversations on the possible inclusion of Bitcoin into the financial reserves of the SAR. Following comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend, Ng, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, voiced this opinion in a post on X (previously Twitter).

Hong Kong Lawmaker Inspired by Trump

Following Trump’s speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, when he pledged to create a “strategic bitcoin reserve” should he be re-elected, Ng’s idea follows Inspired by this, Ng underlined the rising worldwide acceptance of Bitcoin and its view as “digital gold,” implying that Hong Kong could be wise to think about adding Bitcoin into her strategic financial reserves.

“The global acceptance of bitcoin is constantly increasing, and bitcoin is seen by the public as ‘digital gold’ in the context of its technology, so in the future, it is indeed possible to research and consider including bitcoin in strategic financial reserves, as long as it is compliant,” Ng said. He vowed to keep the public updated and underlined his commitment to interact with different Hong Kong stakeholders to investigate the viability and possibilities of this action.

Historic Turning Point

For Hong Kong, this posture signals a historic turning point particularly considering the different approach mainland China has adopted, imposing severe restrictions on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies. By contrast, Hong Kong has positioned itself as a more crypto-friendly legal environment. Officially starting its crypto licensing system for trading platforms in June 2023, the area let licensed exchanges provide retail trading capabilities.

But this progressive strategy has not been without difficulties. Fellow member Duncan Chiu has attacked the “excessively strict” rules needed for crypto exchanges to get licenses, implying that these strict criteria have discouraged big worldwide exchanges from joining the Hong Kong market. Indeed, several well-known exchanges—OKX, Gate.io, HTX—have pulled their license applications in response to these legal obstacles.

Inclusion of Bitcoin in Hong Kong’s Reserves

Ng’s suggestion to include Bitcoin into Hong Kong’s financial reserves could indicate a deliberate change in the financial policy of the island that more closely follows the worldwide trend of embracing digital assets. Driven by its distributed character and view as a hedge against conventional financial market volatility, Bitcoin is becoming more and more popular as a reserve asset all around.

The project also emphasizes Hong Kong’s possibilities to confirm its leadership in digital finance and innovation. Hong Kong might improve its financial resilience and show a forward-looking attitude to include new technology into its financial system by looking at including Bitcoin in its reserves.

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