Hong Kong Legislative Council member supports including Bitcoin in financial reserves: It can be considered for future discussion

Hong Kong Legislative Council member Johnny Ng expressed support yesterday, the 28th, for the proposal made by former U.S. President Trump at a Bitcoin conference to include Bitcoin in the country's government financial reserve assets, stating that the idea of classifying Bitcoin as an official strategic financial reserve is worth considering.

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Hong Kong Legislator: Will Start Discussing Including Bitcoin in Financial Reserves

Legislator Johnny Ng stated on X that the development of Bitcoin and Web3 has long been attracting global attention, with Hong Kong actively positioning itself as a hub for promoting technological and financial innovation:

Bitcoin and Web3 are crucial nodes in global development, and blockchain technology has brought about numerous innovations in finance and practical applications. We should encourage global collaborative development in this regard.

As for considering Bitcoin as part of a country or region's official financial reserves, he mentioned that it is "worth considering":

With the increasing global recognition and acceptance of Bitcoin, and the public perception of Bitcoin as "digital gold" within a technological context, it is indeed feasible to study and consider incorporating Bitcoin into strategic financial reserves under compliance conditions.

He also highlighted that Hong Kong is leading regionally in cryptocurrency regulation and industry development, and should continue to accelerate and gradually open up the market to attract and retain globally competitive "talent and funds, public chains and exchanges, enterprises and projects" in Hong Kong.

Johnny Ng also pledged:

I will engage with various stakeholders to discuss the feasibility and opportunities of including Bitcoin in financial reserves, and will timely report back to everyone.

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However, the comments from the cryptocurrency community below seem skeptical, stating that despite verbal support for promoting crypto innovation, authorities continue to crackdown on related companies.

Last month, legislator Duncan Chiu also pointed out through the Hong Kong Economic Journal that the application requirements for licenses for cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong are "too stringent," which may deter many crypto enterprises from entering Hong Kong:

Recent news of several global cryptocurrency exchanges facing challenges in obtaining operating licenses may have shaken the confidence of market participants in promoting Web3 development in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) previously stated that cryptocurrency exchanges that failed to submit license applications by February 29 must close their Hong Kong operations by May 31.

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Currently, only OSL and Hashkey have successfully obtained licenses, while others including OKX, Bybit, Gate.io, and Huobi HTX have voluntarily withdrawn their permit applications in Hong Kong.