Opinion | How Hong Kong and Singapore can make Asia the centre of crypto’s future

Recently, both Hong Kong and Singapore released policy statements and pilot projects that show strong support for cryptocurrency innovation. This stirred up heated discussion about how these two financial hubs will compete with each other. However, what is really exciting is that these two hubs can complement each other, attract global resources and make Asia into a leading market for cryptocurrency adoption.

Hong Kong was one of the most important cryptocurrency trading hubs in the world until the regulatory environment turned restrictive in 2019. Back then, Hong Kong was the home of influential cryptocurrency exchanges like BitMEX and FTX. Many early adopters in the cryptocurrency community still have strong emotional ties to Hong Kong. That is why the Hong Kong government’s new enthusiasm toward cryptocurrency and Web 3.0 innovation was so widely celebrated as a sign that “Hong Kong is back.”

Singapore has benefited more than anywhere else from the exodus of Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, prompted by China’s crackdowns, over the past two years. The Token2049 conference in Singapore last month turned out to be one of the most well-attended global cryptocurrency and Web3 events in recent years despite the bear market that this industry is facing. In Token2049, we found that many Chinese teams that just relocated here are still actively building products. Meanwhile, deal makers, investors and industry leaders flew in from all over the world because they believed in the market potential of Asia. Singapore proved to be a place of convergence, even when “decoupling” is happening in other places.