Paris-based cryptocurrency data provider Kaiko is moving its Asian headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong in a bid to take advantage of the city’s growing reputation as a hub for digital assets.
The move is a reflection of the growing interest in the region for cryptocurrency and blockchain-based technologies, as well as Hong Kong’s increasingly pro-crypto policy pivot and emergence from COVID-19 related curbs.
In an interview on Thursday, Kaiko’s CEO, Ambre Soubiran, cited Hong Kong’s recent regulatory changes and initiatives as the reason for the company’s decision.
She said, “with all of the recent changes and initiatives from the Hong Kong regulatory bodies, we realized that this is clearly where we have to be, where the capital is going to flow in, and where we are seeing a lot of attractiveness when it comes to hedge funds, investors and asset managers.”
Hong Kong is seeking to develop crypto rules that will encourage growth and protect investors, in contrast to the US where there has been a swingeing crackdown on crypto, and Singapore where tighter rules have been proposed in the wake of the FTX wipeout. The city plans to allow retail investors to trade larger tokens like Bitcoin and Ether later this year, and a mandatory licensing regime for stablecoins is due by 2023-2024.
Despite the challenges of the deep downturn in the virtual-asset industry after last year’s bubble in token prices deflated, Kaiko is confident in Hong Kong’s future as a financial hub. The company’s Head of Asia-Pacific, Sean Lawrence, will relocate from Singapore to Hong Kong by the end of March, and he said that “something like nine out of 10 people” in the crypto industry are discussing returning to Hong Kong in some way.
