Hong Kong is preparing to relax its crypto trading framework to help local platforms tap into global liquidity, the city’s top financial regulator announced Monday at Hong Kong Fintech Week.

Key Takeaways:

• Hong Kong will allow licensed crypto exchanges to connect with global order books, ending its current isolated trading model.
• The move is part of a broader plan to attract crypto firms and align digital asset rules with traditional financial markets.
• Regulators are also preparing new licenses for dealers, custodians, and stablecoin issuers to strengthen the city’s digital finance ecosystem.

Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), said licensed crypto exchanges will soon be allowed to connect their Hong Kong entities with global order books, ending the current system that confines trades within the city.

The change, detailed in a regulatory circular expected later today, aligns the rules for digital assets with those governing traditional financial products, according to a Monday report by Bloomberg.

Hong Kong Steps Up Crypto Push but Trails US in Trading Activity

• The move marks a significant step in Hong Kong’s ongoing bid to position itself as a regional digital asset hub.
• Since 2022, the city has rolled out a comprehensive licensing regime for exchanges, introduced Bitcoin and Ether-linked exchange-traded products, and approved digital-asset funds.
• Still, trading activity has lagged behind global leaders like the United States, where President Donald Trump’s administration has taken a friendlier stance toward the crypto industry.
• “You can say we are on the tougher side,” Leung said. “Once we are sure that we are able to protect investors, we do relax — as we did with global liquidity.”
• The SFC is also finalizing new frameworks for licensing crypto dealers and custodians, while the Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to issue the first stablecoin licenses next year.
• In future phases, regulators may permit locally licensed crypto brokers, not just exchanges, to access international liquidity pools.
• If approved, the rule could open doors for firms like Binance and Coinbase to enter Hong Kong more easily through brokerage licenses instead of full exchange applications, which can take years to process.
• Currently, 11 crypto exchanges hold full SFC licenses, while 49 brokers operate under omnibus account arrangements.
• The SFC also announced it will ease listing rules for new tokens and HKMA-approved stablecoins, removing the 12-month track record requirement for professional investors.

Hong Kong Announces New Digital Asset Policy

• Hong Kong has unveiled its second major policy statement on digital assets, placing stablecoin regulation and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization at the core of its strategy to become a global fintech hub.
• The new “LEAP” framework focuses on legal clarity, ecosystem growth, real-world adoption, and talent development, with a stablecoin licensing regime set to launch on August 1.
• The government also plans to regulate tokenized government bonds and ETFs, paving the way for secondary market trading of these products on licensed digital asset platforms.
• It aims to expand tokenization efforts into sectors like metals and renewable energy, highlighting use cases such as gold and solar panels.

As reported, professionals working in the crypto and hedge fund sectors are playing a key role in supporting Hong Kong’s residential rental market, which continues to struggle due to weak traditional demand sources.

#HongKong #CryptoExchange #DigitalAsset #Jucom #cryptocurrency

• Tech giant IBM has just announced the launch of a cryptocurrency platform dedicated to financial institutions and the US government, marking one of the company's strongest moves in the field of digital assets and blockchain infrastructure.
• According to the latest announcement, this platform is called “Digital Asset Haven”, expected to be officially deployed in the fourth quarter of 2025 under the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. IBM has partnered with Dfns, a leading provider of secure cryptocurrency wallets, to build this system.

“Digital Asset Haven” – a turning point for digital asset infrastructure in the US

• IBM claims the new platform will provide crypto custody and settlement services to U.S. businesses and government organizations. The main goal is to simplify the integration of digital assets into the traditional financial system — something many banks and large corporations are looking for amid the boom in Tokenize and stablecoins.
• A highlight of Digital Asset Haven is its ability to connect directly to over 40 public blockchain networks, allowing organizations to access onchain yield from decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols safely and legally.
• Additionally, the platform is designed to meet complex Token compliance requirements, including governance, identity verification, and anti-money laundering (AML) — all consolidated within the same IBM-managed ecosystem.
• The rapid growth of stablecoins and Tokenize real assets (RWA) is driving strong demand for institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure solutions, according to IBM.

Large banks, hedge funds, and financial institutions are moving from “experimental” to “real deployment” as they see the potential for cost savings and increased transaction speeds.

Clarisse Hagège, CEO of Dfns, Chia :

“In order for digital assets to be integrated into banking systems and Capital markets, the underlying infrastructure must be at the same level as the traditional financial system. Together with IBM, we have built a platform that goes beyond custody to orchestrate the entire digital asset ecosystem, paving the way for global scale.”

Tokenize asset market grows explosively

• According to the latest data from Binance Research, the number of Tokenize stocks increased by more than 220% in July 2025 alone, mimicking the 2020–2021 DeFi boom, when TVL increased from $1 billion to $100 billion in just two years.
• Also in July, the number of blockchain wallets holding Tokenize stocks increased from 1,600 to more than 90,000 addresses, indicating a surge in demand for investing in digital securities.
• At the RWA Summit 2025 in Cannes, Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, said that blockchain-based compliance tools could make traditional transactions “10 times faster and significantly cheaper” than the legacy financial system.
• On June 30, Chainlink also announced the Automated Compliance Engine (ACE) — a modular standards framework that enables organizations to manage legal compliance on the blockchain, aiming to unlock over $100 trillion in new Capital for the digital asset economy.

#cryptocurrency #blockchain #Jucom #IBM #CryptoExchange