Regulation · Regime · Hong Kong · Primary legislation · Government of the Hong Kong SAR
Hong Kong licensing regimes for virtual asset dealing and custodian service providers (AMLO amendment, proposed)New
New licensing regimes, proposed by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the SFC, for firms that deal in or keep custody of virtual assets in Hong Kong, extending the regime that has covered VA trading platforms since June 2023. Consultation conclusions were published in December 2025, and the government aims to put a bill to the Legislative Council in 2026.
Consultation closed
Key points
- The VA dealing regime will largely mirror the licensing rules for Type 1 regulated activity (dealing in securities) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance.[1]
- The VA custodian regime will focus on the risks of safekeeping clients' private keys in Hong Kong.[1]
- Separate licensing regimes for VA advisory and management services were put to a further one-month consultation closing 23 January 2026.[1]
What it covers
Timeline
- 24 Dec 2025 · Consultation closedConsultation conclusions published (101 responses on dealing, 93 on custody).[1]
- 2026 · Proposed · upcomingTarget for introducing the bill into the Legislative Council.[1]
Deployments operating under it
None recorded with a source yet.
Sources
- [1]Virtual asset views published — Hong Kong Government News (news.gov.hk), 24 Dec 2025. Accessed 14 Oct 2026.A