40% of New Fintech Firms in Hong Kong Operate With Blockchain

Nearly 40% of new fintech firms to launch in Hong Kong over the past year are operating in the blockchain sector.

Blockchain firms are increasingly dominating Hong Kong’s financial technology sector, with 39% of new firms launching in the country’s fintech industry last year operating with distributed ledger technology, or DLT.

According to Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau, DLT represents an increasingly dominant share of the country’s new fintech firms year-over-year, up from 27% as of 2018.

Blockchain drives big businesses in Hong Kong

A June 1 report published by Hong Kong’s treasury department has provided a detailed snapshot of blockchain’s accelerating growth within the territory.

Blockchain comprises the fastest-growing segment of the territory’s fintech industry, with 22 of the 57 fintech firms that have launched in Hong Kong over the past year operating with DLT.

WealthTech comprised the second-fastest-growing sector with 20% of new fintech firms, followed by Payments with 17%, and InsurTech with 9%.

Since April 2019, the report notes that the number of fintech businesses operating in Hong Kong has exceeded 600, including the issuance of eight virtual bank licenses and four virtual insurers.

Enterprises in Hong Kong embrace blockchain

The report finds enterprise DLT solutions to comprise the largest sub-sector of the territory’s blockchain industry — representing 45% of Hong Kong’s distributed ledger firms.

/cointelegraph.com/

2020-06-08