Johnny Ng, a Hong Kong lawmaker, has called on the Hong Kong government to look into regulating decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) after the city’s High Court recently ordered defendants to disclose financial records related to the DAO project, according to local media reports. Ng, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, told local media on Monday that the government should introduce a legal framework for the DAOs in a bid to turn Hong Kong into a global Web3 hub.

The lawmaker’s comments came after the court last week gave reasons for an order requiring six defendants to disclose financial records related to the Mantra DAO, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported. In the case, the plaintiffs accused the defendants of misappropriating the assets of the DAO project, while the defendants claimed that the ownership belonged to the token holders. According to DefiLlama, Mantra DAO’s market cap is currently around $740 million, up from $1.1 billion on July 22.

The lawmaker added that the case could set an important legal precedent for the Web3 industry. He had previously called for easier banking access for crypto firms in Hong Kong. Hong Kong welcomed crypto firms last year and officially launched a crypto licensing regime for crypto trading platforms in June 2023, allowing licensed exchanges to offer retail trading services.

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