Hong Kong Issues Digital Asset Policy Statement 2.0
Hong Kong issued Policy Statement 2.0 on digital assets, setting out a LEAP framework for a more unified regulatory system covering exchanges, stablecoin issuers, dealing services and custodians. The framework was broader than Bitcoin but directly affected the licensed market infrastructure through which Bitcoin products and custody operate in Hong Kong.
On June 26, 2025, the Hong Kong government issued Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets, laying out the next phase of its effort to build a regulated digital-asset market. The statement introduced a four-part “LEAP” framework covering legal and regulatory streamlining, expansion of tokenized products, broader real-world use cases, and development of talent and industry partnerships.
The most consequential element for market infrastructure was the plan for a more comprehensive regulatory framework covering digital-asset exchanges, stablecoin issuers, dealing-service providers and custodians. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission was designated to lead future licensing regimes for dealing and custody, while the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and Hong Kong Monetary Authority were tasked with legal work around tokenized financial instruments. The government also signaled support for secondary trading of tokenized exchange-traded funds on licensed digital-asset platforms.
The statement was not Bitcoin-specific. It applied across digital assets and placed substantial emphasis on tokenization and stablecoins. Bitcoin nevertheless occupied an established place inside Hong Kong’s regulated digital-asset market through licensed exchanges and exchange-traded products, so the custody, dealing and platform rules described in Policy Statement 2.0 formed part of the institutional structure through which Bitcoin could be bought, held and traded. The June statement therefore documented Hong Kong’s continued movement from experimental access toward a more complete legal and financial architecture for digital assets.