Hong Kong Sees a Rush for Crypto Licenses; No New Job Opportunities
- Hundreds of crypto firms have lined up to get licensed to operate in Hong Kong since June 1.
- Many of these firms have plans to open a regional office in the SAR.
- The licensing of these firms has yet to benefit local talent, as job opportunities haven’t increased.
- Developers are also hesitant to work for crypto firms as their business models are unstable.
Hong Kong regulators are reported to have received hundreds of applications from crypto-related firms that aim to get registered in the special administrative region of China. However, the number of job opportunities related to cryptocurrencies in the region remains the same, and many members of the crypto space have been discussing the same on crypto Twitter.
It is crucial to note that on June 1, the Hong Kong authorities introduced a new licensing regime for crypto firms, and hundreds of crypto firms lined up to get registered in the region and provide their services to the investors in the region. However, as per Sue Wei, the managing director of major recruitment firm Hays, the presence of these firms has yet to introduce additional jobs for the citizens.
According to a report, as many as 150 firms in Hong Kong tried to acquire a license to operate in the SAR, but few were able to do so successfully. Wei noted that many crypto companies have spent as much as $25 million to get licensed in the region and aim to create a base of operations in the region as well.
Additionally, the job vacancies in the crypto sector of Hong Kong have yet to increase despite hundreds of crypto firms planning to open offices in the region. Wei stated that the industry’s recruitment needs “are light as of now” while adding that “many Web3 companies are still in the early stages of development, but we anticipate an increase in openings as they continue to scale up and mature.”
As per Wei’s statement, her firm has witnessed a significant decline in the demand for crypto developers following the huge crash of the crypto market in 2022. Wei noted that when the talents were laid off in huge numbers, developers also became hesitant to work for crypto companies “due to the unstable nature of the business that mainly relies on the prices of crypto.”
In an earlier report, Bitnation pointed out how Hong Kong has adopted a positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies and now recognizes digital assets as property. Recently, the crypto and Web3 advocates in the SAR presented a report asking the Hong Kong government to create a stablecoin based on the HK dollar to compete with the leading stablecoins Tether USD (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC).
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
