BlockBeats news: On February 25, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, stated during his speech on the 2026-27 Budget that Hong Kong will issue its first licenses to fiat-backed stablecoin issuers in March, with the licensing framework now fully established; regulators will assist licensed issuers in exploring diverse application scenarios within a compliant and risk-controlled framework.
The budget also confirms that Hong Kong will submit legislation this year to establish a licensing regime for virtual asset traders and custodial service providers, expanding regulatory oversight beyond existing cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoins to include over-the-counter and other digital asset trading activities.
Liquidity has been designated as a regulatory priority this year. The Financial Secretary noted that the SFC will take measures to enhance liquidity in the local crypto asset market and open up more products to professional investors, including previously proposed crypto asset margin financing and derivatives trading arrangements, while establishing an "accelerator" mechanism to drive market innovation.
Regarding asset tokenization, the Hong Kong government will issue guidelines clarifying that company creditor registers can be maintained on blockchain, and will explore the use of electronic signatures in the issuance of tokenized bonds. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will also continue upgrading its wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) pilot platform, EnsembleTX, to enhance 7×24-hour real-time value settlement and cross-border interoperability standards.
In addition, Hong Kong plans to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance over the next two years to implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and the updated Common Reporting Standard (CRS), aligning with global emerging standards for crypto-asset tax transparency.