At the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025, Ms Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), shared her regulatory vision behind the integration of local digital asset ecosystem with global liquidity. She also examined the city’s upcoming initiatives to complete its digital asset regulatory framework, with a view to building a trusted, globally competitive and sustainable ecosystem.
Significant step to tap global liquidity
To begin with, Ms Leung outlined the development trajectory of Hong Kong’s regulatory regime for digital assets over the past years: it has evolved from prioritising investor safety through a closed-loop ecosystem focused on licensed virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) to linking up the city’s market with global liquidity, which has become crucial given the fragmented liquidity of today’s global digital asset markets.
Ms Leung previewed that, in a circular issued later on the day, the SFC will enable licensed VATPs to share a global order book with their overseas affiliated VATPs. As the first step under Pillar A (Access) of the SFC’s ASPIRe Roadmap, this integration will enable local investors to tap global market liquidity efficiently with better price discovery and more competitive prices. It will also foster a deeper and more efficient market with more institutional trading. In addition, she expects to launch other initiatives to connect brokers with global liquidity ahead.
Delicate balancing act for regulators; Hong Kong’s edges
On how to strike a regulatory balance, Ms Leung pointed out that overly strict requirements risk driving liquidity and talents to lighter-touch jurisdictions, but too little oversight could undermine trust and stability.
Click here for full details.
