Hongkong Country, a holding landlord in Hong Kong, has leased out commercial part space to a local crypto-nugget business firm named HashKey Group following clarity effectually cryptocurrency regulations.

Neil Anderson, director of Hongkong State, believes that the decision to lease commercial property to crypto businesses was heavily reliant on the recent crypto regulations set up past the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC):

"The SFC'southward contempo decision to regulate digital nugget exchanges in Hong Kong gives us conviction that this new asset class has a regulatory framework, and therefore a futurity within the finance industry."

Hong Kong regulators require crypto businesses to exist licensed locally and offering their services only to professional investors.

Hong Kong'south regulatory decisions around cryptocurrency accept brewed mixed feelings among local investors. However, Christopher Hui, Hong Kong's Secretary for Fiscal Services and the Treasury, has defended the recent proposal to ban retail crypto trading.

Hui said that a regulatory framework that bans retail crypto activity help against "market manipulation, coin laundering and terrorist financing."

Co-ordinate to Hongkong Land, HashKey Group has rented an entire floor in the Three Exchange Square building in central Hong Kong, which is partly owned by the Hong Kong government.

Related: Restricting crypto trading to millionaires expert for Hong Kong, says official

On the flip side, the demand for commercial spaces from traditional banks is declining, primarily attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. HashKey, currently operating from a business concern park dedicated to startups, will be taking up space previously leased by Australia and New Zealand Banking Grouping.

Bloomberg reported that mainstream fintech giants, including Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas, accept reduced their office space. This is supported by data from Jones Lang LaSalle, which shows a nine.vi% vacancy in the central region, which has almost doubled from last year.