In this article, we understand the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association, which is supported by the Hong Kong government and Beijing, and there is no crypto-native organization for its start-up members

On April 11, with the support of Beijing and Hong Kong authorities, the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association was officially established in Hong Kong, attended by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee, and the leaders of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in Hong Kong, Beijing. At the same time, John Lee and Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also wrote inscriptions for the Hong Kong Web 3.0 Association, hoping that the association can “expand a new chapter” and “create a new chapter” for promoting the development of Web3 in Hong Kong.

There is no crypto native institution for start-up members**, and three types of membership applications have been opened**

According to the official website, the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association was initiated by China Mobile, China Merchants, Huawei and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and is composed of a number of Chinese and Hong Kong fintech companies, industry leaders, and legislators in the innovation and technology sector. At today’s inauguration ceremony, Norman Chan, former Chief Executive of the HKMA, was appointed as the President of the Hong Kong Web 3.0 Association, Chen Chun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Li Feng, Chairman of China Mobile Hong Kong, Chen Shaojie, Permanent Honorary President of the Internet Professional Association, served as the Honorary President of the Hong Kong Web 3.0 Association, Zhu Li Yuet-wah, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, served as Honorary Advisor, Wang Yang, Vice President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, served as Chief Scientific Advisor, and former Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Chan K-keung served as Chief Financial Advisor.

In addition to these heavyweights, other members of the association include LegCo member and co-founder of startup accelerator G-Rocket, Wu Kit Chong, co-founder of CMGE, Sin Handi, Vice President of Douyin Group, Ang Ming Fai, Academician of the Singapore Academy of Engineering, Yan Gang, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Merchants Port, who is also a member of the Legislative Council, and Yau Dagen, a member of the Science and Technology Innovation Sector. Xiao Feng, chairman of the Hashekey Group, which is most well-known in crypto circles, also serves on the board of directors.

The start-up members include 40 members, including China Unicom, Tencent Cloud, Dingdang Health, WeLab Bank, Borqs, Asian Blockchain Association, Jujube Technology, QonBay.io, In Capital, Meta Metopia and Asia Heritage & Family Office Limited. **Most of these promoters and founding members are traditional financial or technology companies, and there is no cryptocurrency native yet. **(Click here to view the list of members)

At present, the Hong Kong Web3 Association has also opened membership applications, and the types of membership that can be applied for are divided into senior members, senior members and ordinary members. It is not yet known whether crypto-native applications will be opened in the future, and PANews did not have access to relevant information on site.

According to official disclosures, the tasks of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association include establishing a communication platform for relevant industries, formulating Web3 technical standards, and building a bridge between members of the Web 3.0 industry chain and the ecosystem and the government. At the same time, the association also attracts and cultivates scientific and technological talents and innovative teams with international standards, supports the implementation of cutting-edge technologies and innovative applications of Web 3.0 in Hong Kong, and introduces talents and resources from all parties. The vision of the Association is to build a new generation of Internet technology and help Hong Kong become a “global digital financial centre”.

From the perspective of the organizational structure of the association, it is mainly divided into three committees: academic, industry, and application promotion, and the sub-groups will start from the technical standards of the industry, policy suggestions, financial technology, and market promotion.

The Chief Executive said that virtual asset trading platforms have been expanded in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong dares to be the leader of the new wave **** ecology

"Web3.0 plays a key role in the development of financial technology, and the virtual asset policy declaration issued at the end of last year shows that the government has an open attitude and firm determination. Innovation and technology (I&T) is a key area for Hong Kong’s development, and the development of Web 3.0 is at a golden starting point, which can change the original business operation model and create more new opportunities. Li Jiachao said in his speech at the inaugural ceremony of the Hong Kong Web 3.0 Association.

In fact, since last year, the Hong Kong authorities have made frequent moves in the development of Web3. For example, in September last year, the Hong Kong government issued the “Policy Statement on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong”, which set out the policy stance and approach on the development of the virtual asset industry and ecosystem, and demonstrated the government’s vision for the virtual asset industry Earlier this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also proposed to bring certain stablecoin-related activities into regulation, and confirmed in the conclusion document that it intends to regulate certain stablecoin-related activities.

At the same time, in February this year, Chan Mo-po also mentioned in his 2023 budget speech in the Legislative Council Chamber that the Hong Kong government pledged to allocate HK$50 million to accelerate the development of Hong Kong’s Web3 ecosystem, and announced that it would set up and lead a virtual asset development task force, including relevant policy bureaux, financial regulators, and market participants, to submit recommendations to the government on the sustainable and responsible development of the industry.

In addition, the SFC has also launched a consultation on the proposed regulation of virtual asset trading platforms, which will come into effect on 1 June 2023 under a new licensing regime that will require all central virtual asset trading platforms that operate in Hong Kong or actively promote to Hong Kong investors. In addition to related associations, Hong Kong will also set up a Web3Hub fund to support more overseas Web3.0 companies to settle in Hong Kong.

It is worth mentioning that the Web3.0 Association was established in response to the call of the country and the Hong Kong SAR government, aiming to contribute to building Hong Kong into a world-leading Web3.0 smart city and a safe and sustainable digital financial center. Prior to that, according to Bloomberg, representatives of the Liaison Office and other officials in the Liaison Office had been regular guests at cryptocurrency gatherings in Hong Kong over the past few months, exchanging business cards and WeChat at the gatherings, and deeming the contacts to be very friendly, while officials would check developments, ask for reports, and in some cases call to follow up, to which the Liaison Office did not respond.