On 27 June 2025, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) jointly published public consultation papers to expand Hong Kong’s regulatory regime for virtual assets (VAs) to include (i) dealing in VAs and (ii) VA custodian services.
Background
The two consultations
On 21 May 2025, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoins Bill (Bill) to establish a new regulatory regime for activities involving fiat-referenced stablecoins, which is set to take effect by year-end. First gazetted on 6 December 2024, the Bill has since undergone a series of technical and textual amendments, which we discuss
As crypto markets continue to evolve at an unprecedented pace, navigating the complex and ever-changing regulatory landscape is more crucial than ever. Our Global Crypto Market Webinar Series brings together our lawyers from around the world to provide their insights and perspectives on the latest developments shaping the digital asset space.
From regulatory shifts and
Introduction
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced on 16 January 2025 that new applicants for a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) licence will be subject to a revamped and expedited external assessment process.
Previous external assessment process
VATP licence applicants who had submitted their application on or before
As 2024 draws to a close, Hong Kong has delivered on its promise by unveiling its draft Stablecoins Bill, a comprehensive framework for regulating fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong. The bill generally aligns with the consultation conclusions of the stablecoin regime (finalized July 2024) and solidifies the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA
In a move to facilitate the international standardization and harmonization of data elements in line with the Group of 20’s over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market reform, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) (together, the Regulators) jointly published, following a two-month consultation from
Last week, two major stablecoin announcements were made to support Hong Kong’s efforts in facilitating the responsible development of its virtual asset ecosystem.[1] On 17 July 2024, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) jointly published consultation conclusions on the proposed regulatory
Background
February was an important month in Hong Kong’s journey towards regulating the digital asset ecosystem and positioning itself as a leading innovation hub.
On 20 February 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published comprehensive guidance on the provision of digital asset custody services (Custodial Services Circular) and the sale
In our 2024 FinTech Outlook, our lawyers from across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US share their insights on what to expect across the regulatory landscape in relation to FinTech and cryptoassets in 2024.
On 8 February 2023, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) launched a consultation on legislative proposals to introduce a licensing regime to regulate providers of over the counter (OTC) trading services for virtual assets (VAs) (the Consultation). The proposed licensing regime will be introduced by amending