It appears that Hong Kong's Financial Secretary sees an opportunity in Web3 adoption despite market uncertainty.
On April 9th, Paul Chan, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, published a blog post, "Developing Web3 — Keeping Upright, Innovating and Moving Forward Steadily."
In the blog post, Paul Chan claimed that now is the "right time" for Hong Kong to embrace Web3 adoption and step foot into these technologies.
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According to Chan, while planning Hong Kong's budget, he named Web3 technologies among the top three areas Hong Kong should concentrate on. He drew parallels between the current cryptocurrency industry and the internet's infancy in the 2000s, during which a significant "bubble" exploded and paved the way for real-world applications to develop.
Chan emphasized the importance of a balanced strategy for Web3 adoption, stating:
In order for Web3 to steadily take the road of innovative development, we will adopt a strategy that emphasizes both "proper regulation" and "promoting development.
Moreover, Paul Chan claimed that appropriate oversight should ensure the financial security, mitigate systemic risks, and allow to focus on investor education, protection, and anti-money laundering efforts.
The Financial Secretary also mentioned the upcoming Digital Economy Summit, a two-day event aimed at examining the adoption of Web3 technologies on both state and international levels.
Hong Kong officials have been actively working on plans to accelerate Web3 and crypto adoption. In February, Chan allocated $6.4 million from Hong Kong's annual budget to invest in Web3 technologies.
On top of that, at the end of March, the news broke that local investors have established ProDigital Future, a $100 million fund aiming to finance early-stage Web3 companies. The ProDigital Future is led by venture partner at SAIF Partners Ben Ng and tech investor Curt Shi.
