Hong Kong Authorities Kick-Starts Cryptocurrency Investor Safety Campaign
The Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Investor Education Centre (IES) have announced plans to carry out a public enlightenment exercise aimed at informing the people of Hong Kong of the risks involved in virtual currencies and ICOs.
Mass Appeal: Investor Safety and Visibility
As there are always two sides of a coin, so also there is hardly any profitable venture in the world that has no risks or challenges associated with it. Thus, two influential financial authorities in Hong Kong have taken it upon themselves to make sure everyone in the country understands the nitty-gritty of cryptocurrency trading and participation in Initial Coin offerings (ICOs).
Speaking at the campaign launch, the Chairman of the IEC, Dr. Kelvin Wong, reiterated that:
“ICOs and ‘cryptocurrencies’ are not actual currencies, but a type of virtual commodity. They are not backed by any physical commodity nor by the issuers and are not recognized as a medium of payment or electronic currency. ‘Cryptocurrencies’ are highly speculative and are associated with various kinds of risks. Their prices may be susceptible to significant fluctuations due to speculative activities. Investors may suffer significant monetary losses as a result of the volatile prices.”
The FSTB and IEC are preparing to lance the campaign into overdrive by involving all relevant media sources to carry out this project. Starting immediately following the announcement, authorities will place advertisements in major print media, MTR stations, and online media.
Later in March, there will be television and radio advertisements, and some video clips concerning the subject matter will be shot. These videos will also be shared on all major social media platforms.
The undersecretary of the FSTB, Joseph Chan said:
“Through this series of public education initiatives, the government aims to provide the public with a correct and comprehensive understanding of ICOs and ‘cryptocurrencies,’ so that they can thoroughly assess the risks before making transactions or investment decisions.”
Furthermore, the organizers of the campaign have made it known to the public that they could find vital information concerning cryptocurrencies and ICOs on the Chin Family website.
Cryptocurrency regulation is gradually becoming clearer despite the crypto market having yet to recover from the bearish trend following recent damaging announcements. On January 11, 2018, BTCManager reported that the South Korean government had finally cleared up allegations that it would be banning cryptocurrency trading.
