11-11-2025 
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Hong Kong is easing its stringent digital asset regulations to attract international investors, the city’s securities regulator has revealed.
Speaking at a recent fintech event, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) CEO, Julia Leung, revealed that local exchanges will now be allowed to tap into global order books from offshore affiliates. The move is expected to attract foreign investors to the city-state and deepen liquidity for local traders.
Under the existing laws, exchanges can only match orders within Hong Kong, and while the city has become a vibrant digital asset hub, this stipulation limits order execution compared to other competing trading hotspots that rely on global order books. According to Leung, this rule was designed to protect investors, especially after the collapse of some notable global exchanges based in other jurisdictions.
However, this rule is limiting growth for local trading platforms, Leung noted. Additionally, other sectors, such as foreign exchange markets, are not subjected to similar restrictions.
“What we noticed is that through the creation of this closed-loop environment, we are creating a pocket of liquidity only for Hong Kong,” SFC’s director of licensing, Elizabeth Wong, said at a separate fintech event.
While it relaxes liquidity constraints, the SFC remains keen on protecting investors. Exchanges that tap global order books must ensure that transactions are prefunded on the offshore platforms and rely on delivery-versus-payment settlements. In instances where the settlement fails, local exchanges must compensate the traders from a pre-established fund.
The SFC will also require the overseas exchanges that match orders for Hong Kong platforms to submit to surveillance by the watchdog to prevent market manipulation. These exchanges must also be based in jurisdictions that are members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and compliant with IOSCO standards.
‘From building guardrails to promoting growth’
The rule change is one of many to come aimed at promoting the growth of the city’s digital asset industry, Leung says.
“You can say we are on the tougher side. Once we are sure that we are able to protect the investors, we do relax, as we did with the global liquidity,” she told the attendees of the Hong Kong Fintech Week.
Industry experts have welcomed the move, which they say indicates “a clear shift in focus from building guardrails to enabling growth.”“By enabling global trading flows rather than walling them off, the SFC is effectively inviting major digital-asset firms to come to Hong Kong,” Joy Lam, whose Clarient Advisory specializes in digital asset consulting services, told the South China Morning Post.
The SFC has only licensed 11 exchanges, including OSL, Bullish, and HKVAX. One of these licensed bourses—HashKey Exchange—has filed for an IPO, which sources say could be before the end of the year. It’s targeting to raise $500 million.
HKMA launches AI and tokenization roadmap
Still at the Hong Kong Fintech Week, the city’s central bank unveiled a five-year roadmap that places artificial intelligence and tokenization at the heart of its economic growth agenda.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) plans to launch at least 40 initiatives to build a tokenization ecosystem that powers the city’s new financial order, integrates AI in finance, health, education, and public service and expands the city’s data and payment infrastructure, CEO Eddie Yue revealed.
It will be the city’s third fintech roadmap, and perhaps its most defining one yet, Yue added. The first was launched in 2017 and centered on digital banking. The second, launched four years ago, made fintech part of the city’s fabric.
“Over the next five years, we will have 40 measures in four areas to make sure Hong Kong has more in-depth development, more resilience, and most importantly, we must be ready for the future,” he stated.
The HKMA’s efforts over the past decade have catapulted the city into the world’s leading fintech hub. In this year’s Global Financial Centers Index, it leapfrogged renowned hubs like London and New York to rank first globally for fintech offerings.
Tokenization remains a prominent feature in Hong Kong’s economic agenda. Under the HKMA’s Project Ensemble, some of the world’s leading financial institutions have been experimenting with the issuance of tokens. The project, launched in 2024, boasts notable members including HSBC (NASDAQ: HSBC), Ant Group, Standard Chartered (NASDAQ: SCBFF), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and the Bank for International Settlements.
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