On February 25, news reports indicate that Hong Kong is accelerating the development of core infrastructure for digital assets. Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced in the 2026-27 fiscal budget that Hong Kong will establish a new digital asset platform within the year to support tokenized bond issuance and settlement. The platform will be built and operated by CMU OmniClear Holdings, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, marking the official transition of tokenized bonds from pilot phase to a market-level infrastructure system.
The platform will gradually expand to include more categories of digital assets and connect with regional tokenization platforms to form a cross-market tokenized financial network. This move is seen as an important step to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a digital asset hub, while also improving on-chain settlement efficiency and asset liquidity. As post-trade infrastructure becomes part of the official financial system, the issuance mechanism for tokenized bonds is evolving toward standardization and institutionalization.
Regarding issuance pace, Paul Chan revealed that the government plans to launch the third batch of tokenized government bonds in Q4 2025, with a scale of HKD 10 billion, and will explore regular issuance arrangements. This indicates that on-chain bonds, digital bond settlement, and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) are gradually becoming important supplementary tools for fiscal financing.
Regulatory efforts are also progressing in tandem. Chan stated that Hong Kong expects to issue its first licenses for fiat-backed stablecoins by March 2026, with initial approvals to be cautious. The regulatory focus will be on application scenarios, reserve asset management, anti-money laundering mechanisms, and risk control to ensure stablecoin issuance operates within a compliant framework. Additionally, the government plans to introduce licensing for digital asset trading and custody service providers and amend the Tax Ordinance to align with the OECD crypto asset reporting framework, enhancing tax transparency and international regulatory consistency.
Previously, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong had permitted licensed institutions to engage in digital asset financing activities and established a regulatory framework for crypto derivatives limited to professional investors, aiming to improve market depth and institutional participation. Through coordinated policy efforts, infrastructure for tokenized bonds, stablecoin regulation, and digital asset licensing are forming an interconnected system, demonstrating Hong Kong’s systematic approach to building a compliant digital asset market and accelerating its development as an Asian tokenized financial center.
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