Author: Weilin, PANews
While stablecoins and traditional brokerages providing crypto investment channels have ignited related concept stocks, the Hong Kong government has added fuel to the fire.
On June 26, the Hong Kong SAR Government issued the "Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0", which made detailed deployments and proposed implementation measures based on the initiatives proposed in the first policy declaration in October 2022, focusing more on practical applications and ecological construction, and reaffirming the SAR government's commitment to building Hong Kong into a global innovation center in the field of digital assets.
The Policy Statement 2.0 proposes the LEAP framework, focusing on four key directions
According to the official announcement, the Policy Declaration 2.0 sets out the government’s vision of building a trustworthy and innovative digital asset ecosystem, with risk management and investor protection as the top priorities, while striving to bring substantial benefits to the real economy and financial markets. The new policy declaration proposes the “LEAP” framework, with the following highlights:
Legal and regulatory streamlining: The government is building a unified and comprehensive regulatory framework for digital asset service providers, covering digital asset trading platforms, stablecoin issuers, digital asset trading service providers and digital asset custody service providers.
Among them, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will serve as the main regulatory agency for the future licensing mechanism for digital asset trading service providers and digital asset custody service providers. At the same time, the Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will lead a comprehensive legal review to promote the tokenization of real-world assets and financial instruments.
Expanding the suite of tokenised products: The Government will regularise the issuance of tokenised government bonds and provide incentives for the tokenisation of real-world assets (including by clarifying the stamp duty arrangements applicable to tokenised exchange-traded funds) to enhance liquidity and accessibility. On this basis, the Government welcomes secondary market trading of relevant tokenised exchange-traded funds through licensed digital asset trading platforms or other platforms in the future. The Government will also promote the tokenisation of a wider range of assets and financial instruments, demonstrating the diverse applications of the technology in different sectors, including precious metals (such as gold), non-ferrous metals and renewable energy (such as solar panels).
Advancing use cases and cross-sectoral collaboration: The licensing mechanism for stablecoin issuers will be implemented on August 1, which will help promote the development of real application scenarios. At the same time, the government is also committed to strengthening cooperation among regulators, law enforcement agencies and technology providers to develop digital asset infrastructure.
In addition, as part of the implementation support, Cyberport announced the launch of the "Blockchain and Digital Asset Pilot Funding Program", which is now accepting applications. The program covers multiple areas, including real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, stablecoins and payment solutions, decentralized identity, Web3.0 security, distributed artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), and social innovation and digital experience. Each eligible pilot project can receive 80% funding, with a maximum funding amount of HK$500,000. The application period for the program ends on August 1.
People and partnership development: The Government is committed to working with the industry and academia to promote talent development and position Hong Kong as a center of excellence for digital asset knowledge sharing and promoting international cooperation, including joint research programs and global regulatory collaboration. The Government will build a sustainable talent pool by nurturing a new generation of entrepreneurs, researchers and technical experts.
The Treasury Department and the Securities and Futures Commission will soon conduct a public consultation on the licensing mechanism for digital asset trading service providers and digital asset custody service providers.
Institutional upgrade: Stablecoins evolve from “tool currency” to “infrastructure currency”
Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, explained the Policy Declaration 2.0 to PANews. He said that the Policy Declaration 2.0 is not a simple continuation, but an institutional upgrade . It systematically promotes compliance supervision, asset tokenization, scenario expansion, and talent development around the "LEAP" strategic framework. The key changes are in three aspects:
- Stablecoins will be brought under regulation : It is clear that the stablecoin licensing system will be officially implemented on August 1, 2025. This is one of the few jurisdictions in the world that truly gives stablecoins a "landing pass";
- RWA tokenization is considered a key industry : the government not only promotes the regular issuance of bonds, but also plans to include gold, green energy, electric vehicle assets, etc. in the scope of tokenization;
- Tokenized ETFs and digital asset funds enjoy tax exemptions : If legislation is passed in the future, tokenized ETFs will enjoy the same stamp duty exemptions and capital gains tax exemptions as traditional ETFs , which is a rewrite of the rules of the game in the financial market.
At the same time, stablecoins are evolving from "tool currencies" to "infrastructure currencies" . "Hong Kong's institutional design is very clear, with rules such as legal reserve management, redemption mechanisms, and risk prudential requirements set for stablecoin issuers. It makes stablecoins no longer a "club agreement" between technical people, but a currency with both legal and technical attributes that can be accepted by banks, cross-border settlement systems, and the public sector," said Dr. Xiao Feng.
Talking about the impact of the new policy on crypto-native, he said: The industry used to be two extremes: on one side are digital native assets such as BTC and ETH that are completely on the chain, and on the other side are completely traditional systems. But now, the emergence of stablecoins and RWA has bridged the gap between the two, and this is the " digital twin ". Its essence is the on-chain mapping of real-world assets, and it is asset-level Web3. For example, the right to income of green electricity, warehouse receipts for automobile storage, government bonds, gold...all measurable and owned data can become tradable assets on the chain.
"The logic behind this is that we are entering the "main chain-dominated" stage from the "multi-chain prosperity" stage. We are no longer pursuing the competition of hundreds of chains in terms of quantity, but returning to the competition of infrastructure quality. Whoever can carry RWA and compliance mechanisms will win. The introduction of the new policy further confirms our observation of the Web3 industry. The future will usher in a big explosion in the era of digital twins, and compliance is the entry ticket." Xiao Feng said.
In response to the declaration, Gan Tian, CEO of China Asset Management (Hong Kong), told PANews: "This gradual and systematic development strategy will effectively improve the quality of market operation, promote business innovation and market participation, and provide clearer development guidance for practitioners. In conjunction with the Stablecoin Ordinance, which will be officially implemented on August 1, it is expected that the Hong Kong Web3 ecosystem is ushering in new development opportunities, showing strong growth momentum and driving the local ecosystem towards sustainable development."
In the past three months, there have been frequent reports about the launch of stablecoins and RWA projects in Hong Kong. The Policy Declaration 2.0 may further boost this trend.
In March 2025, Conflux Tree Graph Chain cooperated with Ant Digital Technology to jointly participate in China's first green energy battery swap asset RWA project to promote the implementation of real world assets (RWA) in Hong Kong. On May 2, Hong Kong-listed OSL Group and Ant Digital Technology signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership for the tokenization of physical assets (RWA). In June, according to the National Business Daily, Ant International and Ant Digital Technology plan to apply for a Hong Kong stablecoin license, and Lianlian Digital is also exploring the application for a license in Hong Kong. Xiaomi's Tianxing Bank announced a stablecoin cooperation with JD.com's JD Coin Chain Technology. In the same month, Longxin Group also stated on the interactive platform that the company cooperated with Ant Digital Technology to complete the first domestic RWA based on new energy physical assets in Hong Kong in August last year, and completed the issuance of 9,000 charging piles operated by its aggregation charging platform Xindiantu in Hong Kong in the form of RWA to obtain financing.
In the new stage of regulatory compliance, 40 institutions have upgraded their licenses
Currently, the supervision of digital asset business in Hong Kong is divided and coordinated between the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Virtual asset business activities are supervised by the SFC, but areas involving monetary payment, such as stablecoins and digital Hong Kong dollars, are supervised by the HKMA. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission adopts the principle of "same business, same risk, same supervision" for virtual asset supervision, and adds virtual asset business conditions and technical specifications on the basis of traditional financial licenses.
The licenses related to cryptocurrencies in the Hong Kong financial market are mainly the upgraded licenses 1, 4, 7 and 9. Among them, License No. 1: Virtual Asset Trading (Distribution) - opening accounts for customers or providing buying and selling services; License No. 4: Virtual Asset Investment Consulting - providing professional advice on digital assets; License No. 7: Automated Trading Services - cooperating with VASP licenses to jointly operate trading platforms, forming a "dual license" system; License No. 9: Virtual Asset Management - managing funds in which virtual assets account for more than 10%.
As of June 24, 2025, the 11 officially licensed virtual asset trading platforms are as follows: OSL Digital Securities Co., Ltd., Hash Blockchain Limited, Hong Kong Virtual Asset Exchange Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Digital Asset Trading Group Co., Ltd., Cloud Account Greater Bay Area Technology (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., DFX Labs Company Limited, EXIO Limited, Panthertrade (Hong Kong) Limited, YAX (Hong Kong) Limited, Bullish HK Markets Limited, and Hong Kong BGE Limited.
On the evening of June 24, Guotai Junan International, a Hong Kong subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Haitong Securities, announced that it had obtained approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to upgrade its existing securities trading license (No. 1 trading license) to provide virtual asset trading services and provide advice. This news also quickly set off the market. On June 25, the Hong Kong stock of Guotai Junan International rose by nearly 200%.
According to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, there are currently 40 institutions that have been approved to provide virtual asset trading services through comprehensive accounts. In addition to the latest approved Guotai Junan International, there are also Tianfeng International under Tianfeng Securities, Hafu Securities under Eastmoney, Futu Securities (Hong Kong), Interactive Brokers, China CITIC Securities, ZhongAn Bank, etc. Huatai International, China Merchants Securities International and many other Chinese securities companies are also actively applying for upgrading virtual asset-related trading licenses.
At present, brokerage firms mainly provide trading services of a "distribution" nature rather than operating their own exchanges. Specifically, its model is to set up an Omnibus Account in a licensed exchange, and provide customers with buying and selling channels for mainstream compliant currencies such as BTC and ETH by accessing the trading system. HashKey Exchange revealed on June 25 that its Omnibus Omnibus account service has provided a package of services such as virtual asset trading, custody and delivery to more than 30 licensed institutions in Hong Kong, and the cooperation covers 90% of licensed brokerage firms in Hong Kong. In the past six months, the cumulative trading volume of the Omnibus Omnibus account service has exceeded HK$30 billion. It is worth mentioning that some brokerage firms such as Futu have also obtained exchange licenses through Panthertrade, and may directly use their own channels to conduct business in the future.
In general, the launch of the Policy Declaration 2.0 marks an important progress in Hong Kong's digital asset development path. With the increasingly clear regulatory framework, the gradual implementation of tokenized products, and the active participation of institutions, Hong Kong is accelerating the construction of a robust, diverse and sustainable digital asset ecosystem. RWA and stablecoins may become the key growth areas in the next stage.
