Startups • December 23, 2022, 4:17AM EST

Hong Kong accelerator looking to help 1,000 web3 startups in next 3 years

Quick Take

G-Rocket is looking to help 1,000 web3 startups set up shop in Hong Kong within the next three years.
“Hong Kong Web3.0 Hub” coincides with the special administrative region’s concerted push to put itself among the leaders in the virtual asset industry.

A start-up accelerator co-founded by Legislative Council of Hong Kong member Johnny Ng Kit-chong is looking to help 1,000 web3 startups set up shop in the city within the next three years.

G-Rocket's new initiative, "Hong Kong Web3.0 Hub," coincides with the special administrative region's concerted push to put itself among the leaders in the virtual asset industry.

150 start-ups — primarily founded by Chinese entrepreneurs based elsewhere — have signed up for the accelerator's new program, G-Rocket's co-founder and CEO, Casper Wong, told the South China Morning Post earlier this week.

“We hope to help bring good companies and talent back to Hong Kong in the post-pandemic era,” Wong said.

G-Rocket's program helps web3 startups obtain office space, banking — through virtual bank ZA Bank — and government resources.

G-Rocket is a subsidiary of Ng's venture capital firm, Goldford Group.

Hong Kong pushing into crypto

Crypto-related news out of Hong Kong has been frequent in recent weeks.

CSOP Asset Management, a China Southern Asset Management subsidiary, listed the first bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange a week ago.

Earlier this month, Hong Kong passed a law introducing a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022 applied traditional customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements to VASPs when conducting certain transactions.

Additionally, Switzerland-headquartered Seba Bank expanded into Hong Kong with a new office late last month.