Hong Kong is stepping up its game in the digital asset race, rolling out fresh ways for investors to jump into crypto trading. The city’s watchdog, the Securities and Futures Commission, just unveiled plans to welcome over-the-counter crypto trading and custody services into its regulatory fold.
But they’re not stopping there. The regulators are eyeing crypto derivatives and margin trading next, as revealed by SFC boss Julia Leung at this year’s Consensus Hong Kong conference. It’s all part of Hong Kong’s master plan, kicked off in 2022, to become Asia’s crypto capital – a move that raised eyebrows given mainland China’s total crypto ban just months earlier.
The city’s been busy. They’ve already launched Asia’s first spot crypto ETFs and handed out nine licenses to crypto trading platforms. Bullish Group, CoinDesk’s parent company, just became number ten, scoring their license this week.
The timing’s interesting. This Consensus gathering is the first major crypto shindig since Trump took office, and the mood is decidedly upbeat. Binance CEO Richard Teng notes a sea change in how big money views crypto – sovereign wealth funds aren’t asking if anymore, they’re asking how much.
Bitcoin’s wild ride tells part of the story. After hitting a mind-bending $109,071 on Trump’s inauguration day, it’s settled back to around $96,000 – still more than double last year’s prices.
What makes Hong Kong’s push fascinating is how it might hint at Beijing’s thoughts on crypto. With Trump’s administration warming up to digital assets and exploring a national reserve, some see Hong Kong as China’s sandbox for testing crypto waters.
As IDA’s Lawrence Chu puts it, Hong Kong’s unique “one country, two systems” setup makes it perfect for this role – both as China’s testing ground and as a bridge for the wider financial world.
Finance chief Paul Chan summed it up: between the new licenses, incoming stablecoin rules, and fresh legislation, Hong Kong’s going all in on building its digital asset ecosystem.
