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Hong Kong legislators frontline crypto adoption campaign, foster growth of stablecoin issuance

  • Hong Kong lawmaker Chiu Duncan says legislators are actively consulting on clear guidelines for matters stablecoins.
  • He hopes that stablecoin clarity will make Hong Kong a digital asset hub.
  • It comes days after a legislator vehemently defended against Vitalik Buterin questioning the region’s crypto-friendliness.

A Hong Kong legislator has indicated that lawmakers are in the front row seats as the region pushes toward becoming a center for digital assets. They are keen on presenting the city as one with stable policies and crypto-related strategies and regulations successfully going through major social consensus and complete procedures.

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Hong Kong legislators lead region’s crypto adoption campaign

Hong Kong lawmaker Chiu Duncan spoke during the Shanghai International Blockchain Week that legislators are in the second round of consultation on matters relating to stablecoins. This is part of their individual and joint efforts to set clear guidance on stablecoins, with an estimated target of around June 2024.

According to Duncan, clarity in this space would draw in firms to visit Hong Kong and issue stablecoins, with the prospect that the Hong Kong digital dollar, stablecoin, and asset tokenization would take center stage in driving the city to becoming a digital assets hub both regionally and globally.  

Duncan’s assertions echo those of Johnny Ng, another legislator who boldly defended Hong Kong’s position in matters of crypto. The lawmaker challenged Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s claims that crypto-friendliness in the country was neither here nor there.

I don’t understand Hong Kong well...I understand even less the complicated interaction between Hong Kong and the mainland lately.

Hong Kong welcomes global compliance companies

Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Ng wants Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin to visit the city for first-hand experience of the region’s effective and efficient cryptocurrency environment. Specifically, he touts the Chinese city as one with stable policies with crypto-related strategies and regulations successfully going through major social consensus and complete procedures.

More interestingly, Ng highlights that Hong Kong has room to formulate policies on virtual assets, adding that it welcomes global compliance companies to develop their businesses in the region.

Yesterday, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin shared his views on the development of virtual asset projects (Cryptocurrencies Project) in Hong Kong. I respect his right to speak, but at the same time, I think he does not understand and do not understand the situation in Hong Kong.

Buterin had expressed concern over the city’s crypto-friendliness. Coming to the city’s defense, Ng hails Hong Kong as a “special administrative region with complete procedures for formulating policies and laws.” Further, he explains the city’s policy and legislation processes highlight that extensive consultation takes place, with both government and the public participating.

With these, it appears legislators are taking the initiative in driving Hong Kong’s crypto adoption campaign, challenging the situation in the US, as we know it, where there is a clear partisan divide and the direction and position of digital assets in the national economy.

Cryptocurrency metrics FAQs

What is circulating supply?

The developer or creator of each cryptocurrency decides on the total number of tokens that can be minted or issued. Only a certain number of these assets can be minted by mining, staking or other mechanisms. This is defined by the algorithm of the underlying blockchain technology. Since its inception, a total of 19,445,656 BTCs have been mined, which is the circulating supply of Bitcoin. On the other hand, circulating supply can also be decreased via actions such as burning tokens, or mistakenly sending assets to addresses of other incompatible blockchains.

What is market capitalization?

Market capitalization is the result of multiplying the circulating supply of a certain asset by the asset’s current market value. For Bitcoin, the market capitalization at the beginning of August 2023 is above $570 billion, which is the result of the more than 19 million BTC in circulation multiplied by the Bitcoin price around $29,600.

What is trading volume?

Trading volume refers to the total number of tokens for a specific asset that has been transacted or exchanged between buyers and sellers within set trading hours, for example, 24 hours. It is used to gauge market sentiment, this metric combines all volumes on centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges. Increasing trading volume often denotes the demand for a certain asset as more people are buying and selling the cryptocurrency.

What is funding rate?

Funding rates are a concept designed to encourage traders to take positions and ensure perpetual contract prices match spot markets. It defines a mechanism by exchanges to ensure that future prices and index prices periodic payments regularly converge. When the funding rate is positive, the price of the perpetual contract is higher than the mark price. This means traders who are bullish and have opened long positions pay traders who are in short positions. On the other hand, a negative funding rate means perpetual prices are below the mark price, and hence traders with short positions pay traders who have opened long positions.

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Lockridge Okoth

Lockridge is a believer in the transformative power of crypto and the blockchain industry.

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