Hong Kong plans to finish proposals to manage digital asset sellers and custodians and introduce the principles to town’s Legislative Council in 2026, the Monetary Providers and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) stated Wednesday.
The proposals, developed after a two-month public session that drew greater than 190 responses, are meant to create a licensing framework for digital asset dealing and custodial companies. The principles will fall below the Anti-Cash Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance and mirror current necessities for securities dealing.
Hong Kong’s authorities is growing a regulatory surroundings to encourage the event of town’s crypto trade in an effort to ascertain it as Asia’s crypto hub of alternative 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 evaluation of derivatives and margin buying and selling for digital property. In April, it greenlit staking companies for licensed exchanges and funds, albeit below 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 non-public keys and defending shopper property, whereas the supplier guidelines align with licensing expectations for securities intermediaries. Each are a part of the SFC’s broader ASPIRe roadmap aimed toward enhancing 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 “similar enterprise, similar dangers, similar guidelines” precept and apply requirements akin to these for securities advisory and asset administration companies, the regulators stated. Feedback are due by Jan. 23.
