The Hong Kong government released a policy statement on the city’s crypto ambitions, including access for retail investors.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will kick off public consultations on access to virtual assets for retail investors, according to a policy statement issued by the Hong Kong government yesterday.
After previously proposing to limit crypto trading to professional investors, Hong Kong is now making a turnaround as part of broader efforts to improve the city’s status as a fintech hub. Hong Kong’s shift towards crypto contrasts with Singapore which recently proposed tightening access for retail investors, especially with regard to speculation.
«We want to make our policy stance clear to global markets, to demonstrate our determination to explore financial innovation together with the global, virtual-assets community,» said local financial secretary Paul Chan in a pre-recorded video for the opening of the Hong Kong FinTech Week, after testing positive for Covid during a trip in Riyadh. «The digital transformation of our financial services sector is a central priority.»
Pilot Projects
In order to test tech benefits and further applications of virtual assets in financial markets, Hong Kong will also launch a number of pilot projects including non-fungible token issuances, green bond tokenization and the digital Hong Kong dollar.
The statement also said that Hong Kong would be open to the possibility of a virtual asset-related exchange-traded fund and future review of property rights for tokenized assets as well as the legality of smart contracts.
«The government is prepared to embrace this future, and we welcome the clustering of fintech and [virtual asset] community and talents in Hong Kong, and we will promote the sustainable development of financial services across the whole [virtual asset] value chain,» said secretary for financial services and treasury Christopher Hui.
