According to PANews on December 11, Hong Kong's Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chen Haolian, met with about 10 representatives from the Web 3 and artificial intelligence (AI) industries on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in Web 3 and AI, sharing opportunities and challenges brought to the development of the financial services industry. Chen Haolian pointed out that there are currently over 300 Web3-related companies in Hong Kong, and there are 3 virtual asset trading platforms licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, estimating that a few more virtual asset trading platforms will obtain licenses within this year.
He mentioned that to promote the development of the virtual asset industry, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau will submit a bill to the Legislative Council this year to regulate fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, in response to risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing, and to protect investors, thereby promoting the healthy and orderly development of the market. In addition, there will be a second round of public consultation next year on the regulation of over-the-counter trading of virtual assets and a proposed licensing system for virtual asset custodial service providers.