Hong Kong isn’t the loophole Chinese crypto firms think it is – Cointelegraph Magazine
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China’s crypto ban has been in place since 2021, but that hasn’t stopped companies from chasing what they believe are ways to reenter. Hyped-up stablecoin announcements in Hong Kong and overseas listings that hint at digital assets are just some of the ways companies are testing boundaries. Each time, Beijing responds with fresh warnings — a stark reminder that China’s crypto U-turn isn’t around the corner. Hong Kong’s RWA and stablecoin activity picked up as new licensing rules took effect. (Anndy Lian) The latest warning reportedly came from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which advised companies to pause real-world asset ventures in Hong Kong. It followed a state-owned company scrubbing announcements about tokenizing bonds and other enterprises revealing RWA projects, piling on recent warnings against stablecoins after Hong Kong introduced its licensing framework. To understand why these illusions of loopholes keep appearing — and why they collapse — Magazine spoke with Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 association. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Magazine: Crypto has been banned for years in China, so why do regulators keep issuing fresh warnings? Countless social media accounts predicted Beijing would reverse its crypto ban, but it hasn’t moved so far. (DeFiMadara) Chu: The challenge is that many new lawyers in Hong Kong moving into Web3 don’t have much experience with cross-border issues. That’s created fragmentation and a lot of confusion. Some journalists and lawyers even claimed there was a 180-degree reversal on crypto policy. China doesn’t do 180-degree turns in policy. The only U-turn in recent memory was the rollback of COVID-19 mandates. The crypto ban from 2021 is a good example: Speculative assets are not meant for the retail sector. The People’s Republic of China is still a communist country, and if an unsophisticated investor loses…
Filed under: News - @ October 3, 2025 4:24 am