Hong Kong to enhance digital asset regulation in 18 months

Hong Kong is poised to enhance its digital asset regulation within the next 18 months, marking a significant step in its mission to become a global hub for financial technology. 

At the Foresight 2024 annual summit, David Chiu, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Technology and Innovation), outlined the city’s strategic plans to attract technology talents, build new infrastructure, and establish robust legislative supervision.

Establishing robust digital asset framework

Chiu emphasized that this initiative is crucial for the technology industry over the next five to ten years. “The digital asset industry has made significant progress in the past few years, but we are still in a very early stage,” Chiu said. “We should establish a sound exchange system and soon introduce legislation related to stablecoins.”

Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to stable assets like fiat currencies, are expected to be introduced in Hong Kong by the end of this year.

According to Chiu, sandbox tests have already been carried out, and the government aims to enhance the supervision and enforcement of legislation related to digital asset financial products within one to one and a half years. The next phase will encourage project parties to explore more innovative financial products in Hong Kong.

Stablecoin sandbox

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently announced the first participants in its stablecoin issuer sandbox on July 18. These participants include a company linked to a significant Chinese e-commerce retailer, a local fintech firm, and a coalition of Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications.

However, Jingdong Coinlink Technology Hong Kong Limited, a subsidiary of JD Technology Group, is among these participants and plans to issue a 1:1 stablecoin linked to the Hong Kong dollar (HKD). However, the company has clarified that inclusion in the sandbox does not equate to endorsement or licensure to issue stablecoins.

This planned stablecoin legislation underscores Hong Kong’s pro-crypto financial approach, aiming to foster innovation while ensuring regulatory oversight. On July 23, CSOP Asset Management, one of China’s largest asset managers, launched Asia’s first Bitcoin BTC futures inverse product in Hong Kong.

The CSOP Bitcoin Future Daily (-1x) Inverse Product (7376.HK) follows the successful launch of the firm’s Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066.HK) in December 2022.