Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, said local financial regulators are planning to submit a draft framework related to digital assets sometime in 2026.
In comments prepared for a Friday policy briefing of the Hong Kong Legislative Council's Finance Committee, Hui said the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and Securities and Futures Commission planned to submit a draft ordinance related to regulations for providers offering crypto advisory services. He added that the two regulators were consulting the public after releasing a digital asset consultation paper in December.
In addition, Hui said that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) had begun processing license applications for stablecoin issuers and would address reporting digital assets on taxes.
“We will submit legislative proposals to the Legislative Council this year to implement the revisions to the OECD's crypto-asset reporting framework and common reporting standards, with the aim of automatically exchanging tax information related to crypto-asset transactions with other tax jurisdictions from 2028 onwards, in line with international efforts to combat cross-border tax evasion,” said Hui, according to a translated statement.
Related: Changing regulations: What users should know before buying crypto in 2026
The Stablecoin Ordinance, passed by the Legislative Council, took effect in August and required stablecoin issuers to obtain licenses from the HKMA. As of Friday, the financial authority had no licensed stablecoin issuers on its public register, either for an entity that issues a stablecoin in Hong Kong or one pegged to the Hong Kong dollar.
As of Friday, 11 crypto platforms were licensed to provide services for Hong Kong residents, according to data from the Securities and Futures Commission. Some public officials, including Financial Secretary Paul Chan, have been pushing for Hong Kong to become a center for financial innovation with appropriate regulatory guardrails.
US efforts on comprehensive crypto bill underway
Hui’s remarks on Hong Kong’s attempt to pass comprehensive crypto legislation came the same week that US lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a digital asset market structure bill. The legislation is expected to clarify the roles that the country’s financial regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will have in overseeing cryptocurrencies.
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