On 25 June 2024, the HKMA issued a press release announcing that the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR), the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF), has released two new research reports, on “Decentralised Finance: Current Landscape and Regulatory Developments” and “The Metaverse: Opportunities and Challenges for the Financial Services Industry”.
The reports explore decentralised finance (DeFi) and the metaverse, including:
- An analysis of these technologies and their uses in the financial services industry.
- An overview of the regulatory landscape internationally and in Hong Kong.
- The findings of surveys and interviews, including local market practitioners’ engagement, opportunities and challenges, and the talent landscape associated with the evolution of these technologies.
- Concluding with some considerations intended to facilitate the healthy development and application of these technologies within Hong Kong’s financial services industry.
Mr Enoch Fung, Chief Executive Officer of the AoF and Executive Director of the HKIMR, commented: “The emerging technologies of DeFi and the metaverse, which are closely connected to the broader virtual asset and Web3 developments, will likely present various opportunities for the financial services industry in Hong Kong. We hope that these reports will offer valuable insights to market participants and regulators, locally and internationally, and help inform the formulation of prospective policy initiatives and market innovations for the digital ecosystem in Hong Kong”.
The reports are available on the AoF/HKIMR websites (DeFi and Metaverse).