FTX Founder Says Hong Kong May Be Asia’s Blockchain Hub

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the crypto exchange FTX, said that, unlike the West, Asia doesn’t have a key hub for web3, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. However, Hong Kong could become a leader in this field.

During the annual Hong Kong FinTech Week in 2022, Bankman-Fried said that Singapore and Busan are also possible locations in Asia.

“If you look around the world at where the crypto hubs will be, I think the Bahamas and Dubai will be two of them. In the East, however, it’s not as clear. It could be Singapore or somewhere in Korea like Busan, but I think it’s more likely to be Hong Kong “Bankman-Fried said.

Also, the youngest billionaire in the world, Bankman-Fried, said that the Hong Kong government’s crypto initiative to start a consultation on legalizing crypto trading by retail investors is a good sign for a brighter future for crypto in the region.

Hong Kong wants to put out “tokenized green bonds” and get ready for the digital Hong Kong Dollar.

On Monday, the Financial Secretary of HKSAR, Paul Chan, spoke virtually during Fintech Week to introduce the latest policy statement on virtual assets to the public. He said, “We want to make our policy position clear to global markets, to show our determination to explore financial innovation together with the global virtual-assets community,” hoping to make the most of the advantages and innovations of Fintech in terms of virtual assets.

Eddie Yu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), talked at the same event about the upcoming tokenization of green bonds. He said that the authority plans to issue the first batch of green bonds worldwide this year, with the goal of promoting the product to small-scale retail investors first. More information will be given later.

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Due to uncertainty about the rules, FTX moved from Hong Kong to the Bahamas in 2021.

Last week, Bankman-Fired also confirmed that FTX plans to release its own stablecoin.

In an interview with The Big Whale, a Web3 news outlet, Bankman-Fried talked about how the industry sees the exchange’s position at the top of the ongoing crypto winter.

People think that FTX is the biggest winner in the industry because it was able to buy Voyager Digital and BlockFi, two crypto lenders that were upset when the prices of their assets dropped. However, Bankman-Fried said that FTX’s role is to help keep the industry in balance, which will benefit everyone.

The head of FTX said that the current crypto winter is the “first real Bear Market we’ve been through.” He also said that the market downtime isn’t hurting the company’s business as a whole because the company is always coming up with new ideas.

“One of the best things about crypto platforms is that our business doesn’t change much when the market goes down,” he said. “Every day, we keep growing the business and making new services and tools for customers.” So, yes, the markets are less active and things are a bit tenser, but in the end, it doesn’t throw us off course.”

At the same time, Singapore is working on ways to make its rules for retail investors in cryptocurrencies stricter.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) released a plan last week to limit how retail investors can take part in digital assets. After this, small investors will no longer be able to borrow money to buy coins.

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Singapore’s central bank asked companies not to use tokens deposited by retail investors for lending or staking to make money, which is similar to what the MAS did. But investors with a lot of money won’t have to follow the rules that the two regulatory bodies have suggested.

But Singapore is taking these steps to make sure the crypto industry grows in a good way by putting in place security measures that will keep investors safe.

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