Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jietzhuang stated today on the X platform that Web3 companies are facing obstacles when opening bank accounts, which severely affects their business operations. He emphasized that virtual banks should diversify their services and develop in a way that complements traditional banks. Wu also suggested that Hong Kong should upgrade its virtual banks to manage virtual assets, aligning with the government’s Web3 development goals.
According to a report by the Sing Tao Daily, Wu Jietzhuang mentioned at a press conference on Thursday that his team recently conducted a survey of over 120 cryptocurrency and Web3 companies that entered Hong Kong after 2022. The survey results indicated that approximately 95% of the companies attempted to open local bank accounts, with 70% of respondents stating that banks required their shareholders or directors to visit Hong Kong multiple times. The report noted that around 20% of companies successfully opened bank accounts within two to five months, while 54% needed at least six months or longer to establish accounts.
Despite the Hong Kong government’s repeated commitment to developing the city into a global cryptocurrency hub, difficulties remain for cryptocurrency companies in opening bank accounts. Hong Kong opened its doors to cryptocurrency companies last year and officially launched a licensing system for cryptocurrency trading platforms in June 2023, allowing licensed exchanges to provide retail trading services.
In addition to Wu Jietzhuang’s call, another Hong Kong Legislative Council member, Chiu Tak-gan, also expressed concerns about the “excessively stringent” regulations in the licensing process for cryptocurrency exchanges. He criticized these regulations for forcing some major global exchanges, including well-known platforms such as OKX, Gate.io, and HTX, to withdraw their license applications in Hong Kong.