Hong Kong Treasury Department: Planning to conduct public consultations next year on the licensing system for over-the-counter trading and custody service providers of virtual assets.

On December 12th, the "Finloop2025: Financial Technology Empowers Wealth Management" Hong Kong Wealth Management Industry Annual Summit Forum, hosted by Starpath Technology, was held in Hong Kong. During the event, Mr. Chen Haolian, Deputy Director of the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, stated that they plan to seek public consultation on the licensing system for over-the-counter trading and custody service providers of virtual assets next year, in order to promote the sustainable development of different sectors in the virtual assets market. Currently, Hong Kong has three licensed virtual asset trading platforms, and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong plans to submit a draft regulation on the regulation of fiat stablecoin issuers to the Legislative Council for review this month. Mr. Chen Haolian mentioned that as a leading international financial center in Asia, Hong Kong is an ideal place that combines traditional financial tools with virtual assets. In 2022, the first batch of virtual asset futures ETFs will be listed on HKEX; in 2023, the Hong Kong SAR Government issued the world's first government-issued tokenized green bond; in April 2024, Asia's first batch of virtual asset spot ETFs will be listed on HKEX; in November 2024, the Financial Services Branch of the Hong Kong SAR Government launched the Digital Bond Financing Scheme to promote the development of digital securities market and encourage the wider use of tokenization technology in the capital markets. Mr. Chen Haolian emphasized that these measures highlight Hong Kong's determination and development in financial innovation, and also demonstrate Hong Kong's rapid development in the field of virtual assets, establishing an important position globally.