Hong Kong’s new cross-departmental intelligence task force on virtual assets aims to proactively address the security challenges and crimes arising from Web3 while ensuring the technology is not abused, the city’s police chief said.

Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming revealed on Friday that the city had received more than 1,400 reports of virtual asset-related crimes in the first eight months of the year. He explained that the launch of the Virtual Assets Intelligence Taskforce (VAIT), comprised of technical experts and police officers, would enhance public-private collaboration through intelligence sharing.

He added that this initiative could also improve the police force’s capacity to respond to virtual asset crimes and related cybersecurity threats.

“Through this collaboration, we will share intelligence with regulatory bodies and licensed digital asset service providers, improve our communication mechanisms, and strengthen our joint enforcement efforts to combat virtual asset-related crimes,” he said during the inauguration speech.

Chow disclosed that the force recorded 1,463 virtual asset-related cases from January to August, including fraud, online extortion, money laundering, and theft, involving sums exceeding HK$2.27 billion (US$290.5 million).

While Chow noted a 16 per cent decrease in the number of cases compared with the same period last year, the total financial loss increased by 5 per cent.