Hong Kong-based innovative industry association Web3 Harbour (W3H) and PwC Hong Kong jointly released the "Hong Kong Web3 Blueprint" yesterday (June 23).
Formulated through extensive research and consultations with 47 industry leaders, the blueprint serves as a visionary roadmap that identifies feasible strategies and use cases aligned with Hong Kong's policy objectives, while also proposing five key enablers (development focus areas).
The report also puts forward a series of recommendations aimed at driving financial innovation through blockchain and decentralized technologies, and establishing Hong Kong as a global Web3 financial hub.
Reducing transaction costs and developing new asset classes
The blueprint emphasizes six "superpowers" of Web3 technology: user ownership and governance, immutability with transparency, privacy enhancement and digital identity sovereignty, automation and artificial intelligence integration, enhanced security and resilience, as well as application interoperability.
These capabilities are expected to reshape financial markets by enabling real-time asset transfers, reducing transaction costs, enhancing regulatory transparency, and developing new asset classes such as tokenized intellectual property and data assets.
The blueprint proposes five key development areas: open finance, capital raising centers, asset and wealth management centers, carbon markets and impact investing, as well as international trade and supply chain finance centers. Among these, tokenized private credit, physical infrastructure investments and intellectual property assets are seen as the most promising directions. For example, tokenized solar power generation assets could achieve real-time distribution of returns through smart contracts, significantly improving investment efficiency.
To achieve these goals, the blueprint points out that five key enablers need to be strengthened: talent development, market infrastructure, standard setting, regulatory framework, and funding support. In terms of talent, it recommends establishing a Web3 talent visa program and collaborating with global universities to conduct blockchain research exchanges. On the regulatory front, it calls for accelerating the virtual asset licensing approval process and exploring international passport mechanisms to attract global liquidity.
The need to address issues, including talent shortages
Web3 Harbour Chairman Gary Liu is optimistic that Hong Kong is ready to become one of the world's premier Web3 financial centers. The blueprint indicates that although Hong Kong itself possesses strong digital capabilities, the pace of innovation and competition requires immediate action from the city. He believes that by addressing issues such as talent shortages, gaps in market infrastructure, financing channels and regulatory uncertainties, Hong Kong can potentially lead the development of global digital finance and Web3 applications.
"This is us laying out what the private sector is going to be focused on so that Web3 technologies and virtual or decentralised assets become truly part of the financial infrastructure here in Hong Kong."
Peter Brewin, a member of Web3 Harbour Advisory Committee and a partner and digital assets leader at PwC Hong Kong, said the blueprint outlines a grand vision and practical development roadmap aimed at advancing Hong Kong's financial future through Web3 technology. By promoting innovation in areas such as open finance, tokenized capital markets and digital wealth management, Hong Kong has the potential to set global standards by actively introducing open, decentralized systems, thereby building a more efficient, more inclusive and accessible financial services industry.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Ma Chui-mei; English Editor: Darius)
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