Web3 financing project proposed at China's 'Two Sessions' to connect Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong

A Hong Kong delegate to China’s central political advisory body has suggested the country establish a Web3 financing platform across the southeastern Greater Bay Area, as Hong Kong continues its drive to become a regional crypto hub.

Johnny Ng, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, the country’s top political advisory body, has submitted a suggestion this week, proposing that the authorities may consider building a financing platform for the blockchain and digital assets industry across the Greater Bay Area connecting Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong, according to local news outlet Wen Wei Po.

Ng said that the regulated crypto asset trading platforms in Hong Kong could play a key role in funding projects, according to the report.

Ng’s proposal came as thousands of delegates from across China are gathering in Beijing this week for the “Two Sessions,” the most important annual political meetings that brought together the country’s political elite and industry leaders.

China continues to ban crypto trading and mining activities on the Chinese mainland, while Hong Kong rolled out the welcome mat for crypto firms last year. In June 2023, Hong Kong officially started its crypto licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms, allowing licensed exchanges to offer retail trading services. Hong Kong has granted licenses to two platforms — HashKey and OSL.

In December, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that it plans to formulate strategy documents to clarify the development path of web3 and intends to encourage the development of non-fungible tokens and decentralized applications. The ministry added that it plans to launch pilots related to distributed digital identity to explore web3 digital identity authentication and management.