On 11 February 2026, the Securities and Futures Commission (the SFC) announced a package of measures aimed at enhancing liquidity and expanding the range of permissible virtual asset (VA) products and services in Hong Kong. These measures represent the latest phase of the SFC’s structured development approach under the ASPIRe Roadmap, published on 19 February 2025, and collectively signal a broadening of the regulatory perimeter for both SFC-licensed brokers providing VA dealing services through an omnibus account arrangement (SFC-licensed VA Brokers) with SFC-licensed VATP operators and SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platforms (SFC-licensed VATPs).
The SFC’s initiatives are implemented through three separate circulars issued on the same date. The first permits SFC-licensed VA Brokers to offer margin financing for VA dealing to their securities margin clients, subject to meeting collateral and investor protection requirements. It also allows SFC-licensed VA Brokers to route client orders to shared order books operated by SFC-licensed VATP operators and their overseas affiliates, sets out the conditions to which this is subject, and imposes obligations on SFC-licensed VA Brokers that allow client VA withdrawals. The second circular allows affiliates of SFC-licensed VATPs to act as market makers on their platforms, subject to robust conflict-of-interest safeguards. The third circular sets out a high-level framework to guide SFC-licensed VATPs in developing proposals for VA perpetual contracts — a form of leveraged derivative instrument — for offering exclusively to professional investors.
This newsletter examines each of the three circulars and sets out their key requirements.