Hong Kong’s attitude to crypto sources after the JPEX saga: a survey

Public attitudes toward cryptocurrency in Hong Kong have taken a nosedive following the JPEX crypto exchange scandal, according to preliminary findings of a new survey.

The study, conducted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's Business School, aims to understand how public attitudes towards virtual assets have been affected by the JPEX scandal.

The survey was launched on September 28, 11 days after the charges against JPX were made public, and the results are comparable to the same survey conducted between April and May.

Although the survey period ends on October 20, the results so far show that 41% of respondents prefer not to own virtual assets – up 12 percentage points from the May survey.

Only 20% of respondents now want to own virtual assets in the future, down five percentage points from the previous survey – another sign that Hong Kongers' sentiment towards the cryptocurrency industry may be waning.

The recent JPEX scandal in Hong Kong sent shock waves through the crypto community. A new survey shows how trust is being impacted in the digital asset space. Thread pic.twitter.com/pmbQdbFAND

— tanjiro (@tanjiroNFTs) October 17, 2023

HKUST admitted that the second survey kriptovalyutnogo platform came last month “after the alleged financial fraud” but did not refer to JPEX directly in the report.

HKUST Business School Associate Dean Professor Alan Huang said the recent financial crisis has brought more public attention to the cryptocurrency industry, which has led to “more conservative investment interest” of late. He added:

“As virtual assets increasingly become part of the digital economy, more educational initiatives are needed to increase public awareness and understanding of the risks and potential of this field.”

The HKUST Business School said the survey aims to gauge Hong Kong people's attitudes and opinions on virtual property investment based on their experience, objectives and regulatory protection.

Related: JPEX crypto exchange launches asset-locking scheme, some users are rude.

The first survey involved 5,700 people aged 18 and over, and the second survey, conducted between September 28 and October 5, polled 2,200 people.

JPEX allegedly orchestrated a $166 million fraud scheme, which came to light several months before Hong Kong authorities publicly announced they were investigating the exchange.

In light of the JPX saga, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Security and Futures Commission formed a cryptocurrency-focused task force on October 5.

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