According to the press release, the proposed regimes extend Hong Kong’s efforts in fostering a “secure, robust and globally competitive VA ecosystem, guided by the Government’s latest policy statement on digital asset development”. They also “drive progress along the SFC’s ASPIRe roadmap by attracting qualified participants to the city and enhancing investors’ choice, while integrating Hong Kong’s VA liquidity with the world’s.”

The proposals empower the SFC to license and supervise VA dealers and custodians, as well as enforce relevant regulations. The SFC will also be responsible for setting the expected standards for these two types of service providers to “ensure robust investor protection and market integrity based on the ‘same business, same risks, same rules’ principle.”

Deadline for comments is 29 August 2025.

In its circular to VATPs, the SFC provides guidance to licensed platforms when providing staking services. To manage risks to investors, they should maintain measures to "effectively prevent errors associated with the services, safeguard staked client virtual assets, and ensure proper disclosure of risks to which such staked assets may be subject."

The SFC revised its circular on SFC-authorised VA Funds to facilitate their engagement in staking. These funds are required to "stake virtual asset holdings only through licensed VATPs and authorised institutions, subject to a cap to manage liquidity risk."

The initiatives will "streamline access for global liquidity, enable adaptive compliance and product frameworks focusing on security, and drive infrastructure upgrades for traditional finance to tap into blockchain efficiency."

Under the roadmap, new frameworks for regulating VA over-the-counter and VA custodian services will be developed, while VA product and service offerings will be expanded. Other measures encompass optimisation of operational requirements for VA trading platforms, combatting illicit activities, investor education and proactive stakeholder engagement.

This new licensing approach requires VATP applicants to implement their policies, procedures, systems and controls before conducting an external assessment on these measures. The SFC will become a party to the engagement to supervise the overall external assessment process.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) recently announced its swift licensing process and revamped second-phase assessment for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) in its Circular issued on 18 December 2024. This circular focuses on the licensing process and revamped external assessment for new corporations applying for a licence to operate a VATP, and supersedes the Scope of External Assessment Reports issued in June 2023. All VATP applicants that submit licence applications after 18 December 2024 should refer to this circular.