Crypto firms establishing in Hong Kong forward of a brand new licensing regime for crypto exchanges in June have reportedly discovered some surprising allies within the area — Chinese state-owned banks.
According to a March 27 report from Bloomberg, Chinese banks together with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the Bank of Communications Co., and Bank of China Ltd. have both began providing banking companies to crypto firms in Hong Kong or made inquiries with crypto firms, in accordance with “people with knowledge of the matter.”
One supply claims {that a} Chinese financial institution gross sales consultant even visited a crypto agency’s major workplace to pitch banking companies. This is all regardless of an ongoing crypto ban in China.
Cointelegraph reached out to Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the Bank of Communications Co., and Bank of China Ltd for additional remark, however didn’t obtain a reply earlier than publication.
Asked for remark, Julia Pang, Head of Banking Relations at Hong Kong-based crypto buying and selling platform OSL instructed Cointelegraph that her agency welcomed “rising interest from Chinese banks in partaking with the regulated crypto trade.”
“This improvement is encouraging for each the trade and the broader ecosystem, because it demonstrates a maturing understanding of the crypto sector by conventional monetary establishments,” she said.
A spokesperson for the firm said they couldn’t currently provide a comment on whether the firm had been approached by any state-owned Chinese banks.
Related: Hong Kong wants to become crypto hub despite industry crisis
In October last year, the government of Hong Kong floated the idea of introducing its own bill to regulate crypto, and Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released a proposal for a regime for cryptocurrency exchanges on Feb. 20, set to take effect in June.
Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, delivers the opening keynote and reinforces HK authorities’s imaginative and prescient to develop the digital asset sector in Hong Kong.He mentions Web 3 presents a paradigm shift to the web period. pic.twitter.com/9MGkWOCj0O
— Everest Ventures Group (EVG) (@EVG_Ventures) March 20, 2023
According to a Feb. 20 report, it’s also understood that representatives from the China Liaison Office have been frequenting Hong Kong crypto gatherings.
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