Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang expressed in a post on X platform today that Web3 Company encountered obstacles when opening a bank account, which seriously affected their business operations.
He emphasized that virtual banks should provide diversified services and develop in a way that is distinct from traditional banks. Wu Jiezhuang also suggested that Hong Kong should upgrade virtual banks to manage virtual assets, which is in line with the government’s Web3 development goals.
According to Sing Tao Daily’s report, Wu Jiezhuang stated in a press conference on Thursday that his team recently conducted an investigation on over 120 cryptocurrency and Web3 companies planning to enter Hong Kong after 2022. The survey results showed that about 95% of the companies attempted to open local bank accounts, with 70% of respondents stating that the banks required their shareholders or directors to visit Hong Kong multiple times. The report pointed out that around 20% of the companies successfully opened bank accounts within two to five months, while 54% of the companies required at least six months or longer to do so.
Despite the Hong Kong government’s repeated commitment to developing Hong Kong into a global cryptocurrency center, difficulties in opening bank accounts for cryptocurrency companies still exist. Hong Kong opened its doors to cryptocurrency companies last year and officially launched the licensing regime for cryptocurrency trading platforms in June 2023, allowing licensed exchanges to provide retail trading services.
In addition to Wu Jiezhuang’s call, another Hong Kong Legislative Council member, Yau Tak-kun, also expressed concerns over the “excessive strictness” 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.
