Hong Kong lawmaker calls for easier banking access for crypto firms in region

Johnny Ng, a Hong Kong lawmaker, urged the government and banks to relax certain restrictions on banking services for crypto and Web3 firms, as many of them continue to face difficulties in opening local accounts.

Ng, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, wrote in a post on X today that Web3 companies are facing difficulties in opening bank accounts, “hindering their ability to conduct business effectively.”

“Virtual banks should diversify their services and develop in a complementary manner to traditional banks,” Ng said, adding that Hong Kong should upgrade virtual banks to manage virtual assets, which aligns with the government’s Web3 development goals.

Ng said in a press briefing on Thursday that his team had conducted a survey recently with over 120 crypto and Web3 firms that entered Hong Kong after 2022, according to the local newspaper Sing Tao Daily. 

The survey results showed that about 95% of them had attempted to open local bank accounts, with 70% of the respondents reporting that banks requested their shareholders or directors to visit Hong Kong multiple times. About 20% of the respondents successfully opened bank accounts within two months to five months, while 54% of the firms needed at least six months or more to open accounts, according to the report.

It has long been an issue for crypto firms to open bank accounts in Hong Kong despite the government’s reiterated commitment to developing the region into a crypto hub. Hong Kong rolled out the welcome mat for crypto firms last year, and in June 2023, it officially started a crypto licensing regime for crypto trading platforms, allowing licensed exchanges to offer retail trading services.

Duncan Chiu, a Hong Kong lawmaker, has also raised concerns over the “excessively stringent” regulations for crypto exchanges to obtain a license, criticizing that these rules have pushed major global exchanges away from entering Hong Kong. Many global exchanges — including OKX, Gate.io and HTX — have withdrawn their license applications in Hong Kong.