Hong Kong: The Original Crypto City ft. Kevin Lee
This conversation between Ben Caselin (CMO, VALR) and Kevin Lee (CBO, Gate.io), as part of the podcast series “VALR Unfiltered: Money, Meaning & Society”, touches on the unique cultural and financial aspects of Hong Kong, as well as its potential role in the future of crypto.
In this segment, Caselin and Lee discuss Hong Kong's unique role in global finance, emphasizing its dual nature as a gateway between China and the rest of the world. Both speakers highlight the city’s culture of financial innovation, rooted in survival-driven practices and a deeply embedded familiarity with stock and property markets. This environment has led to a culture where almost everything, from wine to golf memberships, is commodified and treated as part of a portfolio.
Caselin underscores the historical significance of Hong Kong as a financial hub, especially in the context of Bitcoin mining, where the city has served as a bridge for capital flows between China and the global economy. He expresses hope that Hong Kong could adopt cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin, in a way that mirrors El Salvador’s approach—decentralized and driven by the community’s needs rather than by central bank oversight. He contrasts this vision with the more institutionalized, regulatory-heavy approaches that might emerge, particularly around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and compliance-heavy systems like the travel rule.
Lee, while sharing Caselin’s optimism for innovation, offers a more cautious perspective, noting that Hong Kong may not be the first to adopt new financial technologies but is always quick to follow. He points to Hong Kong’s history of being second to the U.S. in adopting financial innovations, such as Ethereum ETFs and staking. Lee also suggests that Hong Kong could become a testing ground for China’s financial policies, potentially resuming Bitcoin mining through state-controlled companies to regain lost power.
Both agree that Hong Kong’s culture of experimentation has made it a fertile ground for innovation, especially in the crypto space, where products like perpetual futures and DeFi gained traction before elsewhere. Despite its small size, the city’s ability to innovate, combined with its free-market mindset, positions it as an ideal place for testing new financial products that could shape the future of the industry.
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Trading or investing in crypto assets is risky and may result in the loss of capital as the value may fluctuate.
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and should not form the basis for making investment decisions, nor be construed as a recommendation or advice to engage in investment transactions.
