Vitalik Buterin Advises Caution: Evaluate Hong Kong's Crypto Friendliness for Long-Term Presence
Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin has issued a word of caution to cryptocurrency projects considering establishing their operations in Hong Kong.
Speaking at the Web3 Transitions Summit in Singapore, Buterin emphasized the need to evaluate the stability of the Hong Kong government's crypto-friendliness before committing to the region.
He raised concerns about the potential impact of future regulatory, political, and other unknown events on the city state's current friendly environment.
“I don't understand Hong Kong well. I understand even less the complicated interaction between Hong Kong and the mainland lately,” Buterin reportedly said.
“Obviously, it's very friendly now. But the big question that I'm asking and that I think anyone is asking is: how stable is the level of friendliness?”
In contrast to mainland China's broader crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and mining, Hong Kong has actively embraced crypto firms, even encouraging banks to collaborate with them.
In October 2022, the Hong Kong government released its policy statement on Virtual Asset Development, clarifying its stance on virtual assets.
Additionally, in December, the city state implemented its new regulatory framework for crypto last month.
The new rulebook allows retail investors the ability to trade virtual assets, instead of restricting digital assets trading to professional investors and traders with at least $1 million in bankable assets.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has also started providing licenses to crypto exchanges.
Still, Buterin claimed it is hard to judge whether the Hong Kong government would continue supporting the crypto industry in the future.
“To me, that's the key variable that I think is
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