The Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission published the “Web3 Innovation and Development White Paper” (2023). It is reported by the local newspaper The Paper.
The document calls Web3 technology “an inevitable trend for the future development of the Internet industry.” According to the white paper, Beijing plans to become an international innovation hub for the digital economy.
As part of the initiative, the Chaoyang City District will invest at least 100 million yuan (more than $14 million at the exchange rate at the time of writing) annually until 2025. This was stated at the forum by the director of the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Center – “Chinese Silicon Valley” – Yang Hongfu.
According to the publication, the white paper also talks about Beijing’s desire to strengthen political support and accelerate technological breakthroughs for the development of the Web3 industry.
The head of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, called the announcement of the Chinese authorities amid expectations on June 1 in Hong Kong an “interesting timing”.
Interesting timing on this Web 3.0 white paper from the Beijing government tech committee with the June 1st anticipation in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/0Ts1UB0jnL
— CZ :large_orange_diamond: Binance (@cz_binance) May 27, 2023
Rules proposed in February require all centralized venues doing business in Hong Kong or interacting with local investors to be licensed from June 1, 2023. SFC.
In September 2021, the People’s Bank of China, in a joint statement with nine government departments, classified cryptocurrency transactions as illegal financial activities. In February 2022, China tightened criminal penalties for illegally raising funds in digital assets.
In January 2023, the Hong Kong authorities announced their readiness to accept cryptocurrency companies from all over the world. According to former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes, this is a sign of China’s intentions to return to the industry.
China Pacific Insurance CEO Shan Zhong believes that Beijing has not changed its stance on cryptocurrencies despite their acceptance in Hong Kong. At the same time, the firm launched two investment funds focused on digital assets in the region.
In February, Bloomberg reported on the Chinese government’s tacit support for Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency initiatives. According to sources, officials from Beijing have become frequent guests at industry events, and their attitude has been friendly.
Recall that in May, Zhao noted that a cryptocurrency-related report on China Central Television caused a stir in local communities. He stated that “historically, stories like this have led to bull rallies.”
Found a mistake in the text? Select it and press CTRL+ENTER
Cryplogger Newsletters: Keep your finger on the pulse of the bitcoin industry!