Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary recently made an announcement regarding the city’s approach to Web3, stating that Hong Kong will focus on “proper regulation” and “promotion of development” for this sector. The Financial Secretary further commented that the world is currently competing to create the largest space for Web3 innovation under the premise of controllable risks.

Despite the closure of some exchanges in the past period of time, the Financial Secretary emphasized that this is the best time to promote the development of Web3, much like the development of the Internet. The industry would benefit if the bubble were to recede, allowing for more focused competition in technological innovation, practical application, and value creation.

In his proposed three major directions to promote Hong Kong’s high-quality development, the Financial Secretary highlighted the potential of the digital economy and the application of Web3, which have already generated positive responses from Hong Kong society. This week alone, several large-scale seminars and carnivals related to Web3, digital economy, and financial technology have been held in Hong Kong, some of which are expected to draw more than 10,000 attendees.

This week, the SAR government and Cyberport are jointly hosting the “2023 Digital Economy Summit”, which has set up six thematic forums to explore future trends such as smart cities, data innovation, financial technology, artificial intelligence and big data, Web3, smart mobility, and new industrialization.

Another Web3-themed carnival is also being hosted by industry insiders in Hong Kong, which is a significant milestone as it reflects Hong Kong’s vision and development strategy for Web3, which has aroused great interest from industry insiders. The event will focus on topics such as the development of Web3 and blockchain technology, popular applications of Web3, and related global regulations, and build a platform for exchanges and mutual progress for the cutting-edge development of Web3 around the world.

Many founders and senior managers of leading Web3 companies or start-up companies will gather in Hong Kong to participate in the conference, including representatives of Web3 infrastructure, trading platforms, virtual assets, wallets and payment tools, network security audits, and innovation investment funds. Some people in the industry have described the lineup of events as the industry’s “martial arts conference”.

Despite the fluctuation of the virtual asset market, and the recent closure of some virtual asset exchanges, the Financial Secretary maintains that this is the right time to push Web3 forward. Drawing parallels with the early 2000s and the rise of the Internet and the bursting of the bubble, the Financial Secretary believes that after the tide of speculation ebbs, the remaining powerful players will focus more on competing in technological innovation, practical application, and value creation, contributing to improving the quality of the real economy.

In order for Web3 to steadily take the road of innovative development, Hong Kong will adopt a strategy that emphasizes both “proper regulation” and “promoting development”. In terms of proper supervision, in addition to ensuring financial security and preventing systemic risks, Hong Kong will also 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 and is also studying the regulation of “stable coins” to ensure the sustainable and responsible development of the virtual asset industry.

Source: https://azcoinnews.com/hong-kong-takes-the-lead-in-web3-development-with-a-series-of-large-scale-events.html