Hong Kong to Issue First Batch of Stablecoin Issuer Licenses Next Month, Legislate Regulation on Virtual Asset Trading and Custody by Year-End

BlockBeats News, February 25th, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced in the 2026-27 Annual Budget Speech that Hong Kong will issue the first batch of fiat-pegged stablecoin issuer licenses in March. The related licensing system has been implemented, and regulatory authorities will assist licensed issuers in exploring diverse application scenarios within a compliant and risk-controlled framework.

The Budget Speech also confirmed that Hong Kong will introduce a bill within the year to establish a licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms and custody service providers, expanding the regulatory coverage from existing exchanges and stablecoins to over-the-counter digital asset trading activities.

Liquidity is highlighted as a regulatory focus this year. The Financial Secretary pointed out that the SFC will take measures to enhance liquidity in the local crypto asset market, offer more products to professional investors, including the previously proposed crypto asset margin financing and derivative trading arrangements, and establish an "Accelerator" mechanism to drive market innovation.

In terms of asset tokenization, the Hong Kong government will issue guidelines clarifying that corporate bond registries can be maintained on the blockchain and will explore the use of digital signatures in tokenized bond issuance. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will also continue to enhance its wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (wCBDC) pilot platform, EnsembleTX, to strengthen 24/7 real-time gross settlement and cross-border interoperability standards.

Additionally, Hong Kong plans to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance in the next two years to implement the OECD's Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and updated Common Reporting Standard (CRS), aligning with global emerging crypto asset tax transparency rules.