Government-backed studies identify decentralized finance (DeFi) and metaverse technologies as crucial opportunities to strengthen the region’s standing in the sector, offering a promising future for the industry.
On June 25th, the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR), the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF) research arm, released two in-depth reports examining the transformative impact of DeFi and the metaverse on the financial landscape.
The DeFi report underscored the sector’s remarkable growth, with its market capitalization skyrocketing from $6 billion in 2021 to over $80 billion in 2023. The findings emphasized the immense potential of DeFi, stating, “These numbers demonstrate that DeFi’s potential cannot be ignored.”
Despite this rapid expansion, the study revealed that DeFi remains an underutilized market, accounting for only 4% of the overall crypto-asset market.
Furthermore, the report found that more than 70% of surveyed crypto businesses had yet to explore DeFi technology. While acknowledging challenges in governance, compliance, and vulnerabilities, the report remained optimistic about DeFi’s ability to provide innovative financial services, such as liquid staking, flash loans, and automated market makers, which could enhance transaction speed, foster innovation, and promote economic inclusion.
In contrast, the metaverse study found that while Hong Kong’s financial institutions exhibit a strong interest in the metaverse, their engagement remains moderate. This sentiment was reflected in the survey results, with over 51% of respondents, including 6% of metaverse service providers, expressing scepticism about the technology’s future potential.
However, a segment of Hong Kong’s fintech businesses is actively developing metaverse-related projects, demonstrating the region’s strong commitment to embracing emerging technologies.
Enoch Fung, the CEO of the AoF and the executive director of the HKIMR, remarked,
“The emerging technologies of DeFi and the metaverse, which are closely connected to the broader virtual asset and Web3 developments, will likely present various opportunities for the financial services industry in Hong Kong”.
Alongside these efforts, Hong Kong government entities have actively promoted the region’s offshore tech hub to Canadian crypto and Web3 startups at a tech conference in Toronto.
Emily Mo, Toronto ETO director, highlighted Hong Kong’s favourable startup regulations, including lower taxes compared to Canada, and its openness to collaborating with pre-commercial specialist tech companies.
She emphasised Hong Kong’s innovative approach to Web3 and virtual assets, noting the current trends in fintech, health tech, green tech, and property tech in the region.
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