Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a “Public Consultation on Legislative Proposal to Regulate Dealing in Virtual Assets”1 on 26 June 2025 proposing a new licensing regime regulating Hong Kong virtual asset (VA) spot traders. It draws heavily on the licensing regime for VA trading platforms (VATPs) under Hong Kong’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (the AMLO) and the licensing regime for traditional intermediaries offering VA dealing services in Hong Kong.
The deadline for commenting on the consultation paper’s proposals is 29 August 2025, and comments can be sent by email to vadealing-consult@fstb.gov.hk or through the link on the SFC’s webpage at https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/consultation/doc?refNo=25CP6. The regulators state in the consultation paper that they aim to introduce a bill on the proposed licensing regime for VA dealing service providers into the Hong Kong Legislative Council as soon as practicable.
The FSTB and SFC are separately consulting on a proposed regulatory regime for providers of VA custodian services2 which is following the same timeline and is covered in a separate Charltons newsletter.