HONG KONG — The first day of the Hong Kong Consensus Conference ended with a promise to launch new cryptocurrency-related financial products in the Chinese special administrative region.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, financial secretary and chief executive officer of the Securities and Futures Commission have all listed regulatory priorities, saying that Hong Kong will begin issuing stablecoin licenses next month, release a perpetual contract framework, and is committed to developing the local crypto economy.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said he believes artificial intelligence is one of the few trends that is mature at this stage: “With AI agents able to make and execute decisions independently, we may start to see an early form of what some call a machine economy, in which AI agents can hold and transfer digital assets, pay for services and transact with each other on-chain.”
Skybridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci says he’s sticking with Bitcoin predictions Will reach $150,000, shows U.S. legislation is being negotiated
“I think once this legislation is passed, the money centers and banks in the United States will open up like a flood,” he said. “If we were just in a four-year cycle, Bitcoin would start to pick up at the end of the year, starting in the fourth quarter.”
Consensys’ Joe Lubin said that Ethereum’s antifragility is important for a decentralized foundation that can support further decentralized finance (DeFi), which in turn will allow developers to “build and re-architect world systems on a more sound financial and trust basis.”
“DeFi is roughly as safe as traditional finance,” he said.
Nigel Feetham, Gibraltar’s Minister of Justice, Trade and Industry, said the focus of smaller jurisdictions regulating cryptocurrencies is to ensure market safety and integrity.
“We’re jealous of protecting our reputation because all it takes is one market failure, if I may say so, and obviously everyone suffers from it. Once you’re licensed in a jurisdiction, you become a stakeholder, so we have an obligation to make sure we look after all our stakeholders.”
Recent market trends also caught the speakers’ attention.
Bitmine’s Tom Lee Takes Nearly $8 Billion in Unrealized Losses on Ethereum The holding company said people “should consider the opportunities here rather than sell.”
“Gold is a cultural thing,” says Selini’s Jordi Alexander.
The final day of Consensus will feature a panel discussion dedicated to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana blockchain scaling, with a keynote address by Zak Folkman of World Liberty Financial, and a fireside chat with Bilal Bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
