The arrival of one of the biggest Web3 industry events in Hong Kong is testing the city’s resolve in becoming a virtual asset hub, while the organisers look to expand their footprint in Asia.
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Consensus Hong Kong, a three-day cryptocurrency- and blockchain-focused event that kicks off on Tuesday, is leaning heavily into the city’s reputation as a traditional financial hub.
“Naturally, we know our strength, and that is capital markets,” said King Leung, global head of financial services, fintech and sustainability at InvestHK.
Michael Lau, chairman of Consensus Hong Kong and head of business development at the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish, echoed that sentiment.
“Choosing Hong Kong was a pretty strategic decision, because we know that one of the big themes within the whole space is … [that] traditional finance has been enabled by this technology,” Lau said in a joint interview with Leung at the offices of InvestHK on February 13.
Consensus Hong Kong is the first major expansion of one of the premier industry conferences since the organiser CoinDesk, a crypto news outlet whose coverage of FTX account irregularities led to the downfall of the crypto exchange, was acquired by Bullish in November 2023.
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Hong Kong, meanwhile, has been looking to show its continued commitment to growing the virtual asset sector while also illustrating its capacity to host major industry events.
One of the hottest topics in the industry right now is stablecoins, which are pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar and therefore have more traditional finance applications than other cryptocurrencies. Hong Kong is readying stablecoin regulations that will be overseen by the city’s de facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.