Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang posted on X platform today, stating that Web3 Company encountered obstacles when opening bank accounts, which seriously affected their business operations.
He emphasized that virtual banks should provide diversified services and develop in a way that is different from traditional banks. Wu Jiezhuang also suggested that Hong Kong should upgrade virtual banks to manage virtual assets, which aligns with the government’s Web3 development goals.
According to Sing Tao Daily, Wu Jiezhuang stated at a press conference on Thursday that his team recently conducted an investigation into over 120 cryptocurrency and Web3 companies entering Hong Kong after 2022. The survey results showed that about 95% of the companies attempted to open local bank accounts, with 70% of the respondents stating that banks required their shareholders or directors to visit Hong Kong multiple times. The report pointed out that about 20% of the companies successfully opened bank accounts within two to five months, while 54% of the companies needed at least six months or longer to do so.
Despite the Hong Kong government’s repeated commitment to developing Hong Kong as a global cryptocurrency center, difficulties still exist for cryptocurrency companies in opening bank accounts. Hong Kong opened its doors to cryptocurrency companies last year and officially launched the licensing system for cryptocurrency exchanges in June 2023, allowing licensed exchanges to provide retail trading services.
In addition to Wu Jiezhuang’s call, another Hong Kong Legislative Council member, Qiu Dagen, also expressed concerns about the “overly stringent regulations” in the licensing process for cryptocurrency exchanges. He criticized these regulations for forcing some major global exchanges, including OKX, Gate.io, and HTX, to withdraw their license applications in Hong Kong.
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