Hong Kong Plans to Refine Virtual Asset Licensing and Tokenization Framework, Pushing for Regulated Stablecoin Trading

Odaily News: Hong Kong's 2026 Policy Address proposes that the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) refine the virtual asset licensing regime and formulate regulatory guidelines to clarify the compliance pathway for virtual asset service providers. It also aims to improve the regulatory framework for tokenized investment products, promoting the issuance, trading, and launch of innovative products for gold and other suitable real-world asset tokenized products on licensed platforms.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will explore more tokenized deposit applications, collaborate with mainland China to study trade finance use cases, and complete pilot transactions by the end of this year. It plans to finalize the Ensemble central bank digital currency 24/7 operational arrangements around the end of this year. HKEX intends to partner with designated banks to launch a tokenized warehouse receipt financing pilot within 2027. Its blockchain multi-asset tokenization platform has already incorporated Core Climate-listed carbon credits and plans to include LME-approved warehouse commodity receipts as a pilot next year.