Animoca Brands co-founder and executive chairman Yat Siu has been appointed to Hong Kong’s Task Force on Promoting Web3 Development.

The task force is part of an initiative by the government of Hong Kong to make recommendations on the sustainable and responsible development of Web3 in the region. It follows an official white paper by the wider Chinese government - and Hong Kong - which endorsed the possible exploration of Web3 after previous crackdowns on allied tech such as cryptocurrency. The task force was announced in the recent 2023-2024 budget for Hong Kong.

Animoca Brands, a company which has made repeated investments in Web3 including mobile titles such as One Fight Arena, also recently pivoted their attention towards Asia due to increased legislative pressure in the US. The company has been bullish about the potential of Web3 in Asia, including in gaming and blockchain, cryptocurrency and metaverse concepts.

Siu said in a statement, “I am honoured to be appointed to the Task Force and I look forward to contributing to this forward-thinking initiative. The Task Force firmly establishes Hong Kong as the leading example of a mature and highly modernised economy that embraces the remarkable opportunities presented by Web3, blockchain, virtual assets, and the open metaverse. I believe that the work of the Task Force will help to shape not only Hong Kong but also globally in the adoption of blockchain technologies, particularly in the areas of regulation, ecosystem building, industry development, and talent development.”

Hong Kong the next Web3 hotspot?

Asia is a double-win for Animoca, as the region combines a vibrant gaming landscape with a massive mobile audience in the form of China, and a potentially huge Web3 market. However, future success will all depend on whether or not adoption is widespread. The decision to work with the taskforce indicates that Siu is optimistic about official government support for Web3 in Asia and China.

Whether famously legislature-heavy China will offer the kind of freedom that decentralised blockchain advocates are strongly for is not yet clear but it's clear that work is being done to lay foundations and bring the tech forwards.