ICO Listings Have More Freedom In Hong Kong And Singapore

The recent ban by China on cryptocurrencies and ICO is driving blockchain startups to look for safe-havens and Hong Kong and Singapore are one of the top options.

A large number of blockchain startups are rushing to Hong Kong and Singapore as it offers greater freedom to cryptocurrencies compared to Mainland China to launch their token sales.

During the first quarter, the total amount of funds raised through ICOs globally was $6.3 billion, going the fund raised in 2017. Over $1.7 billion of the first quarter’s overall fund came from Telegram, however, the number of token sales is expected to surpass the levels of 2017. Regardless of the unstable performance in cryptocurrency price during the first quarter, there is still a high demand for new crypto coins.

In September 2017, China issued a ban on ICO, and since that period, the amount of tradings occurring in Hong Kong and Singapore is rising. Hong Kong was quite receptive to ICO and investors from Beijing, with issuers avoiding China’s ban and listing their address in Hong Kong. But for the time being, the popularity of Singapore is still not official.

“We cannot say Singapore has become an ICO hub yet, as more work needs to be done, but yes, there has been a lot of activity since September last year,” according to Singapore’s cryptocurrency and blockchain industry association’s chairman, Anson Zeall, quoted in SCMP.

As a matter of fact, Singapore took the number 3 position in 2017 in the market for ICO issuance based on the number of funds accumulated, falling behind the United States and Switzerland based on FunderBeam data cited in SCMP. Hong Kong and Russia also had an increase in tradings.

This shift in ICO tradings is thanks to the ban from China that was implemented in 2017, not to say South Korea is treading on China’s steps and also banning ICOs in the following week.