Brock Pierce, the founder of Tether, the world's largest issuer of USDT stablecoin, said he believes it is only a "matter of time" for China to open up its cryptocurrency market. Although many exchanges have recently withdrawn from their Hong Kong license applications, he hinted that he is considering returning to Hong Kong for a third time.
Looking back 10 years ago, Brock co-founded Tether stablecoin USDT in Hong Kong. He sold his shares and exited Tether in 2015, a year after the company was founded.
Therefore, when he mentioned that he was preparing to return to Hong Kong, it was more likely that he was referring to a new project that he would be running in the future.
Last week, the Solowin and Sequire Asian Investor Summit was held in Hong Kong, where Brock Pierce, currently the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, attended. He was noncommittal about future new projects and whether Hong Kong would become a permanent base of operations, but stressed that Hong Kong is a market for “ongoing dialogue.”
“This could lead to big things,” he told Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Hinting at a third return to work in Hong Kong, he said: "I'm going to where I think my time is most valuable, and I'm passionate about what's happening in Hong Kong, which means I'm passionate about working here."
Different from the current market trend, Brock praised Hong Kong's regulatory environment and believed that Hong Kong is moving in the right direction.
Hong Kong is in a favorable position relative to countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea that have introduced their own cryptocurrency policies. He also pointed out that traditional finance (TradeFi) remains a particularly strong opportunity for the Hong Kong crypto market.
“I think Hong Kong is leading in many ways,” he added.
“The main opportunity in Hong Kong lies with Tradefi, and this is where the Hong Kong digital dollar stablecoin has great potential.”
Hong Kong has always attracted much attention as a gateway to the huge Chinese mainland market, and has attracted many people in the cryptocurrency industry during the policy changes in the past two years.
Although China has a strict ban on crypto activities and regulators have not yet indicated that they will change their policies, the cryptocurrency industry continues to pay attention to the Chinese government's stance on cryptocurrencies.
Brock said he believes China will eventually open up its cryptocurrency market.
“Will China open up to cryptocurrencies? I would say it’s inevitable.”
“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.”