Hong Kong Confirms 2026 Deadline for Crypto Licensing Bill
The Hong Kong government has reaffirmed its plan to introduce a crypto licensing bill by the end of 2026. The legislation will cover four types of virtual asset businesses: dealing, custody, advisory, and management. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui confirmed this timeline during a Legislative Council Finance Committee policy briefing on October 5, 2026. With only three months remaining in the year, the deadline is now imminent.
The bill, proposed jointly by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), aims to amend the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615). Each licensing regime will be supervised by the SFC, extending oversight into areas previously outside Hong Kong's main crypto framework.
The four licensing categories include dealing (covering over-the-counter (OTC) trading), custody (for firms holding private keys on behalf of clients), advisory (for businesses giving advice on virtual assets), and management (for portfolio management services for digital assets). The guiding principle is “same business, same risks, same rules,” aligning each new category with corresponding types under the Securities and Futures Ordinance.
Hui emphasized that the bill is part of a broader 2026-2030 financial market development strategy and falls under the government’s Policy Statement 2.0 on Digital Assets. Notably, the proposal includes no transitional or grandfathering provisions, meaning businesses without existing licenses from the SFC or the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) may have to cease operations once the new regulations take effect.
Consultations on the dealing and custody regimes garnered over 190 responses, with conclusions published on December 24, 2025. The advisory and management consultations received 51 responses, with conclusions released on May 26, 2026. This new bill builds on earlier regulatory steps, including the licensing of virtual asset trading platforms in 2023 and the Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect on August 1, 2025.