The Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR), the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF), released two new Applied Research reports titled “Decentralised Finance: Current Landscape and Regulatory Developments” and “The Metaverse: Opportunities and Challenges for the Financial Services Industry.”
These reports delve into the frontier technologies of decentralised finance (DeFi) and the metaverse, offering a comprehensive analysis of their applications within the financial services industry.
They provide an overview of the international and local regulatory landscapes and discuss survey findings on local market practitioners’ engagement, opportunities, challenges, and the talent landscape related to these technologies. The reports highlight the strong interest among practitioners in expanding their involvement in the virtual asset ecosystem.
The report on decentralised finance examines the opportunities and challenges created by DeFi activities, regulatory approaches advocated by international organisations and individual jurisdictions for virtual asset and DeFi markets, and survey and interviews findings from local financial institutions and virtual asset service providers on current and future applications of virtual assets. It also offers considerations for fostering a healthy DeFi ecosystem in Hong Kong.
The report on the metaverse analyses the potential uses of the metaverse in the financial services industry. It provides an overview of the regulatory landscape both internationally and in Hong Kong.
It discusses the findings of surveys and interviews with local market practitioners, exploring their engagement with the metaverse, the opportunities and challenges they face, and the talent landscape associated with the evolution of these technologies.
“The emerging technologies of DeFi and the metaverse will present various opportunities for Hong Kong’s financial services industry. We hope these reports provide valuable insights to market participants and regulators and inform prospective policy initiatives and market innovations in Hong Kong’s digital ecosystem,”
said Enoch Fung, CEO of AoF and Executive Director of HKIMR.
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
