Hong Kong plans to finish proposals to control digital asset sellers and custodians and introduce the foundations to the town’s Legislative Council in 2026, the Monetary Companies and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) mentioned Wednesday.
The proposals, developed after a two-month public session that drew greater than 190 responses, are supposed to create a licensing framework for digital asset dealing and custodial companies. The principles will fall beneath the Anti-Cash Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance and mirror current necessities for securities dealing.
Hong Kong’s authorities is growing a regulatory atmosphere to encourage the event of the town’s crypto trade in an effort to ascertain it as Asia’s crypto hub of selection over Singapore. Its stance contrasts with China’s, which is intensifying its crackdown on digital currencies.
In February, the SFC introduced new licensing regimes for over-the-counter buying and selling alongside a overview of derivatives and margin buying and selling for digital belongings. In April, it greenlit staking companies for licensed exchanges and funds, albeit beneath strict asset management and danger disclosure necessities. Spot crypto exchange-traded funds have been buying and selling since 2024.
The proposed custodian regime focuses on securing personal keys and defending shopper belongings, whereas the vendor guidelines align with licensing expectations for securities intermediaries. Each are a part of the SFC’s broader ASPIRe roadmap aimed toward bettering entry to regulated digital asset markets.
The SFC additionally began a session to increase oversight to digital asset advisers and managers. The regime would observe the “identical enterprise, identical dangers, identical guidelines” precept and apply requirements corresponding to these for securities advisory and asset administration companies, the regulators mentioned. Feedback are due by Jan. 23.
