Real estate conglomerate Seazen Group from China prepares to debut NFTs and release tokenized private debt offerings.
Seazen Group Embraces Crypto in Hong Kong Amidst China's Potential Shift
In a significant move, Seazen Group, one of China's largest real estate and investment firms, is planning to venture into the digital assets realm. This shift comes as China considers lifting its longstanding ban on cryptocurrency and related products, and is exploring the development of yuan-backed stablecoins.
Seazen Group, which managed to avoid financial default during China's blanket ban on digital assets trading, will establish the Seazen Digital Assets Institute in Hong Kong. The Institute, to be led by Vice Chairman Wang Yifen, will focus on issuing tokenized financial instruments such as private and convertible bonds.
The firm's strategic move capitalizes on Hong Kong's progressive stance on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. While mainland China has largely shunned digital assets, many such products and services are legal in Hong Kong.
Seazen Group's foray into the digital assets market will primarily involve the creation of tokenized real world assets (RWAs). At least some of these RWAs will be issued in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to the company's Wuyue Plaza shopping centers.
It remains unclear if the Chinese government intends to further rescind its digital assets ban to allow open trading for popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Chinese housing and real estate sector is still recovering from a 2021 market crash, and the impact of Seazen Group's move on the sector remains to be seen.
Despite the uncertainty, Seazen Group's initiative underscores the potential for Hong Kong to become a significant player in the digital assets market, even as China weighs its options in the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency.
