Hong Kong’s financial regulator approved staking services for licensed companies. Additionally, a bill for regulating stablecoins is expected to be passed by late 2025.
Source: LinkedIn / Julia Leung
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) introduced regulations for staking services. Licensed virtual asset trading platforms (VATP) and authorized funds are now allowed to offer staking services in a controlled environment.
According to the new rules, VATPs must:
- safeguard client digital assets involved in staking;
- implement procedures to prevent operational errors;
- ensure full disclosure of risks to investors.
Funds dealing with digital assets can only participate in staking through licensed VATPs and authorized financial institutions, with asset volume limits set to manage liquidity.
This initiative is part of the ASPIRe strategy to develop Hong Kong’s Web3 industry. “Broadening the suite of regulated services and products is crucial to sustain the healthy advancement of Hong Kong’s virtual asset ecosystem,” emphasized Julia Leung, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer, in the press release.
Furthermore, Hong Kong authorities plan to introduce a licensing regime for stablecoin issuers soon. The legislation is already in preparation and is expected to be enacted by the end of 2025. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) are working on the regulatory framework. This was announced by Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, during his speech at Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2025.
The official also mentioned consultations on regulating over-the-counter crypto services and custodians. Meanwhile, the authorities are introducing innovative regulated sandboxes, such as HKMA’s Project Ensemble, which allows the testing of tokenized real-world asset (RWA) use cases under regulatory oversight.
In H2 2025, the Hong Kong government is also preparing to release a new policy statement on the digital asset industry. This will outline the integration of Web3 solutions into the traditional financial sector, the use of tokenized instruments in the real economy, and the expansion of digital infrastructure. Hong Kong remains committed to the “same activity, same risk, same regulation” principle, ensuring Web3 development within a balanced and technology-neutral regulatory framework.
In his speech, the Financial Secretary also highlighted that the special administrative region became the largest market for spot ETFs based on digital assets in the Asia-Pacific region, a year after their launch, and local regulators already licensed 10 VATPs.
