Hong Kong snags another blockchain conference amid crypto hub push

US blockchain firm Chainlink is bringing its annual conference to Hong Kong this year at the invitation of the local government, the second major Web3 event to recently announce such a move amid the major financial market’s effort to become a cryptocurrency hub.

Chainlink’s SmartCon, held last year in Barcelona, Spain, will take place in Hong Kong on October 30 and 31, the blockchain infrastructure company announced on Friday.

San Francisco-based Chainlink, founded in 2014, is one of the world’s biggest operators of blockchain oracles, which is software that helps firms develop applications on distributed ledgers to connect smart contracts to data from external systems.

“Our commitment to establishing Hong Kong as Asia’s premier Web3 hub was very well-received by the participants [of last year’s SmartCon] with overwhelming response,” said Undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Joseph Chan Ho-lim. “We are thrilled that Chainlink recognises this potential and has chosen to bring SmartCon 2024 to our vibrant city.”

Hong Kong to host major crypto event in 2025 as city woos virtual asset firms

InvestHK, a government agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), were both involved in bringing SmartCon to the city. It comes after the organisations successfully courted CoinDesk to bring over its Consensus conference.

Consensus is one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency-themed conferences. The organiser, US crypto media outlet CoinDesk, announced last week that next year’s conference would be held in Hong Kong.

The near-back-to-back announcements show that Hong Kong’s Web3 push is gaining traction nearly a year and a half since the city’s government made its aspirations in the sector known. These efforts have included new licensing rules for cryptocurrency trading that took effect last year and upcoming ones on stablecoin issuers in what is supposed to make the market more appealing by providing regulatory clarity.

The 2022 pivot was in part meant to woo back crypto firms that had left in recent years because of what looked like the government taking a harder line against virtual assets. Since then, the local industry has been rocked by multiple crypto-related frauds and questions about high compliance costs affecting the city’s competitiveness.

The deadline for virtual asset trading platforms operating in Hong Kong to submit a licence application without leaving the city was at the end of February, attracting 24 firms, most of which were local. Some major platforms with ties to Hong Kong and mainland China – including Binance, OKX, HTX and Crypto.com – have applied themselves or have affiliate applicants.

The city has also recently been signing deals for big conferences in a bid to bring visitors back to the city post-Covid, with Web3 events being a major part of that. In November, it hosted ApeFest – an event for owners of the Bored Ape non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

A DJ poses during his set at Yuga Labs’ first international ApeFest in Hong Kong on November 4, 2023. Photo: SCMP / Matt Haldane

The Chainlink deal is now “another feather in the cap” for Hong Kong as a financial and technology centre, said Kenneth Wong, general manager of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions at HKTB. He added that the tourism board is “stoked by the success” of helping make Hong Kong the first Asian city to host SmartCon.

SmartCon 2024 will be one of the three main events of Blocktober, a series of crypto events organised by Hong Kong-based industry association Web3 Harbour taking place from October 13 to November 1.

About 2,000 people attended SmartCon’s last two annual events, Chainlink said, adding that it expects to see similar numbers in Hong Kong.