Hong Kong rolls out new crypto licensing and trading scheme
Hong Kong financial regulator Securities and Futures Commission is rolling out a new crypto framework.
According to a recent Reuters report, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission plans to establish new licensing frameworks for crypto over-the-counter trading desks and custody services. Officials announced during the recent Consensus Hong Kong 2025 conference that the aim of the new measures is to increase market efficiency while also ensuring investor protection.
The detailsCrypto derivative trading and margin financing options are currently under Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission’s review. This is not the first such action by the partly autonomous city, with its last attempt to become a crypto hub being thwarted by mainland China’s crypto ban.
More recently, rumors started that this ban may soon end. In a recent report, crypto news outlet CCN cites Hong Kong emerging as a regulated crypto hub as one of the driving forces behind this possible shift.
During a recent CNBC interview, Yifan He, CEO of Chinese blockchain firm Red Date Technology, estimated the likelihood that China will reverse its crypto ban at over 50%. He said:
“Two years ago, if you had asked me about China’s chances of unbanning crypto, I would have said zero. […] But today, it’s more than 50%. […]
Hong Kong is extremely important, especially in terms of its position in the Web3 space. It’s bridging the gap between China and the rest of the world in the crypto ecosystem.”
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan said during the conference that the regulatory initiatives “reflect our commitment to building a thriving digital asset ecosystem.”
The report follows Hong Kong launching of Asia’s first spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in May 2024. Harvest Global Investments CEO Tongli Han said at the time:
“The market potential is double the size of that of our U.S. counterparts.”
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