Animoca CEO invites Ethereum’s creator to Hong Kong

Yat Siu, founder of Animoca Brands, offered to fly Vitalik Buterin to Hong Kong and act as his tour guide to help navigate the city-state’s crypto regulatory landscape after Buterin shared doubts about long-lasting policies.

Animoca’s chief executive dispelled claims that the relationship with Beijing could hamper regulatory stability and disrupt crypto-friendly policies in the near future. Siu stressed that Hong Kong operates a free market and serves as a cornerstone in China’s approach to emerging technology like web3.

Despite everything that one may be reading in the media, Hong Kong has actually been one of the most stable economies in the world, ranked by organizations that are unrelated to Hong Kong.

Yat Siu, founder and ceo Animoca Brands, on CoinDesk TV.

Buterin had previously expressed his concerns about how concrete crypto-friendly laws in Hong Kong might last due to China’s ban on crypto. The Ethereum co-founder shared these remarks during the 2023 Web3 Transitions Summit in Singapore.

Siu is the second individual to suggest that Buterin visit Hong Kong and get personally acquainted with the region’s efforts regarding digital assets. Johnny Ng, a local policymaker, also invited Buterin to Hong Kong and offered to introduce him to relevant agencies working on establishing the region as a global crypto hub.

Hong Kong’s crypto rally

Both invitations come amid Hong Kong’s push to attract crypto businesses and digital asset operators by implementing policies to incentivize web3 growth.

In addition to a licensing regime for both retail and institutional crypto service providers. Hong Kong also encouraged banks to onboard digital asset entities as customers.

The Special Administrative Region could publish a stablecoin regulatory framework by mid-2024, as reported by crypto.news 

While policies are installed to fairly regulate markets, authorities retain the hammer at hand for non-compliance actors. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority advised crypto companies against making misleading bank claims. 

Furthermore, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission warned users against trading on JPEX, an unregistered crypto exchange. Law enforcement later arrested six individuals tied to crypto fraud allegations on JPEX’s platform.