China’s crypto stance unchanged by moves in Hong Kong, says exec

Despite Hong Kong steadily progressing with cryptocurrency adoption, mainland China has not changed its anti-crypto stance successful presumption of section regulations.

Some Chinese state-affiliated banks person increasingly opened bank accounts to service crypto clients successful Hong Kong. CPIC Investment Management — a China government-backed steadfast regulated arsenic a Hong Kong entity — adjacent launched 2 cryptocurrency funds successful April.

All these developments don’t mean that China has softened oregon volition soften its attack to regulating Bitcoin (BTC) anytime soon, according to CPIC Investment Management CEO Chenggang Zhou.

“The Hong Kong authorities tries precise hard to beforehand Web3 and crypto, but it doesn’t connote immoderate changes successful mainland regulatory regulations oregon the Chinese government’s cognition toward crypto,” Zhou said successful an interrogation with Cointelegraph connected May 5.

Zhou emphasized that contempt China government’s backing, CPIC Investment Management operates arsenic a Hong Kong entity regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission.

“Hong Kong regulations let america to put successful antithetic markets oregon plus classes oregon products similar cryptocurrencies, truthful we’re not breaching immoderate regulations oregon laws,” the CEO said. He added:

“We got progressive successful crypto due to the fact that Hong Kong regulations let america to bash that. But it’s successful nary mode immoderate denotation of the China government’s cognition oregon policy, oregon alteration of policy.”

China has maintained its anti-crypto stance for a agelong time, adjacent earlier banning crypto wholly successful September 2021, Zhou noted. He said that helium doesn’t expect the section authorities to alteration its crypto policies successful the foreseeable future.

The CEO isn’t unsocial successful reasoning that China remains and volition stay anti-crypto portion trying to beef up Chinese slope deposits with crypto accounts.

“Given that the Chinese authorities is coming down hard connected the fiscal sector, it is hard to ideate that China is loosening its power implicit the quality for Chinese nationals to usage crypto,” Lesperance & Associates laminitis David Lesperance told Cointelegraph.

Related: Hong Kong tribunal rules cryptocurrencies arsenic property

According to Lesperance, China wants to summation its overseas currency deposits, whether that is fiat to acquisition crypto oregon crypto itself. “They are bifurcating the markets to unopen retired home Chinese customers but attracting overseas customers,” helium noted.

The lawyer besides noted that the crypto marketplace successful mainland China is “still efficaciously unopen down.” That raises enforcement concerns astir Chinese clients getting a accidental to usage Hong Kong exchanges to get wealth retired of China. “Certainly, the authorities volition effort to halt this leakage,” Lesperance noted.

CPIC’s Zhou besides mentioned that crypto exchanges successful Hong Kong person strict Know Your Customer policies, which purpose to restrict mainland Chinese investors connected their platforms.

“I don’t expect immoderate licensed crypto exchanges successful Hong Kong to judge onshore mainland citizens to commercialized successful the exchanges,” Zhou stated.

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