Hong Kong authorities officially introduced updated regulations for stablecoins and a new strategy for bond tokenization aimed at developing the local financial market.
The Hong Kong government published updated rules for the digital asset market. According to the document, the licensing regime for stablecoin issuers will officially come into effect on August 1, 2025.
The Hong Kong Legislative Council approved the regulatory framework for stablecoins in May of this year to encourage real-world use of stablecoins in the region.
The updated rules also address the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) in Hong Kong. The main focus is on establishing legal clarity, expanding the ecosystem, supporting real applications, and developing talent in blockchain technology and digital assets. Specifically, the government’s new plan in Hong Kong includes:
- regulation of the issuance of tokenized government bonds and creation of conditions for asset trading, including clarification of taxation;
- promotion of tokenization in other sectors such as precious metals and renewable energy;
- allocation of funds to support innovative blockchain projects through the Cyberport funding program;
- development of a crypto derivatives market for professional investors, including crypto ETFs and futures.
The Hong Kong government believes that regulated issuance of tokenized government bonds and governmental support for trading tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETF) will foster the growth of the secondary market and stimulate the use of the technology in other industries.
Market regulation will be conducted by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), while the legal oversight of real-world asset tokenization will be handled by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Hong Kong is actively developing its digital asset market. Authorities subsidize companies issuing tokenized bonds, assist banks in implementing distributed ledger technology (DLT), and are testing CBDC capabilities.
