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Xinmei Shen

Hong Kong continues to ratchet up its cryptocurrency development efforts, as the city’s securities regulator fine-tunes rules to boost the liquidity of local digital-asset trading platforms.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said it would allow locally licensed digital-asset exchanges to integrate their order books with those of their affiliated platforms globally.
“What we noticed is that through the creation of this close-loop environment, we are creating a pocket of liquidity only for Hong Kong,” said Elizabeth Wong, the SFC’s director of licensing and head of fintech unit, on Tuesday at Finternet 2025: Asia Digital Finance Summit.
The SFC aimed to “connect Hong Kong with global liquidity”, enabling investors to have access to global markets and attract institutional trading to Hong Kong, Wong said.
Finternet 2025 was sponsored by local crypto exchange operator OSL, along with InvestHK, the Financial Services Development Council and Cyberport.
The SFC was also looking into capital rules for digital-asset derivatives trading, said Eric Yip, executive director of the SFC’s intermediaries division, at the same event.
That followed the regulator’s comments in February that it was considering allowing derivatives for professional investors, as part of the city’s digital-asset road map.
The SFC’s outlook reflected confidence in the city’s development as an international fintech hub, despite Beijing’s cautious approach towards cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins.

The new rules marked “an important milestone in the evolution of Hong Kong’s digital-asset framework”, as they showed a “clear shift in focus from building guardrails to enabling growth”, said Joy Lam, founder of Hong Kong-based Clarient Advisory. This development represents “a big win for the industry and also end users”, she said.
“By enabling global trading flows rather than walling them off, the SFC is effectively inviting major digital-asset firms to come to Hong Kong,” Lam said.
The SFC announced the new rules on the first day of Hong Kong Fintech Week on Monday, where the government launched a five-year fintech strategy to advance artificial intelligence and tokenisation initiatives.
Such regulatory initiatives showed that Hong Kong was “signalling a shift towards global integration and practical innovation in digital assets, underpinned by robust regulation”, said Ying Wang, a partner at the international law firm Simmons & Simmons.
Still, policy uncertainties continue to linger, as evidenced by Beijing’s recent intervention into mainland Chinese tech firms’ involvement in stablecoin initiatives in the city.
“This policy reversal – motivated by concerns over monetary sovereignty and the protection of the e-CNY – has dampened enthusiasm in Hong Kong’s stablecoin sector and signalled that mainland authorities may restrict offshore digital asset innovation,” Wang said.
“Chinese tech players now face the challenge of navigating Hong Kong’s regulatory openness alongside Beijing’s caution, with the risk of abrupt policy changes and political ambiguity weighing on both mainland-affiliated and international participants,” she said.
She added that Hong Kong must, therefore, “balance its regulatory ambitions with flexibility to remain competitive among global digital asset hubs”.
Separately, Binance CEO Richard Teng extolled US President Donald Trump’s recent pardon of Zhao Changpeng, the cryptocurrency exchange operator’s founder.
“By saying the US wants to be the crypto capital of the world, it forces every country in the world to sit down,” Teng said at Finternet 2025 on Tuesday. Binance would be announcing more global partnerships and licensing projects, he added.
Additional reporting by Danielle Popov


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Hong Kong pushes adjustments to digital-asset rules as Beijing remains cautious on crypto

The SFC’s latest digital asset-related initiatives aimed to “connect Hong Kong with global liquidity”. Photo: Shutterstock

The Securities and Futures Commission logo seen at the regulator’s office in Quarry Bay. Photo: SCMP

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HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue speaks at the Hong Kong Fintech Week conference on Monday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Financial Secretary Paul Chan speaks at the Hong Kong Fintech Week conference on Monday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong has launched a five-year fintech strategy at the Hong Kong Fintech Week conference. Photo: Eugene Lee

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Xiao Feng, chairman and CEO of crypto exchange operator Hashkey Group, speaks at the Global Blockchain Summit in Shanghai. Photo: Handout

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The changes show a ‘clear shift in focus from building guardrails to enabling growth’ in the sector, Clarient Advisory’s Joy Lam says


The changes show a ‘clear shift in focus from building guardrails to enabling growth’ in the sector, Clarient Advisory’s Joy Lam says.


Hong Kong pushes adjustments to digital-asset rules as Beijing remains cautious on crypto

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The changes show a ‘clear shift in focus from building guardrails to enabling growth’ in the sector, Clarient Advisory’s Joy Lam says

The changes show a ‘clear shift in focus from building guardrails to enabling growth’ in the sector, Clarient Advisory’s Joy Lam says