<p>The new issue of the &#34;Fiscal Budget&#34; indicates that the government will submit a bill within the year to establish a licensing system for service providers involved in digital asset trading and custody; at the same time, Hong Kong has implemented a licensing system for fiat stablecoin issuers, with the first batch of licenses to be issued next month. The government and financial regulatory authorities will continue to promote licensed issuers to explore more application scenarios under compliance and risk-controlled conditions.</p>
<h2>Promoting the Electronicization of Bearer Bonds</h2>
<p>Financial Secretary Paul Chan stated that to align with the bond market's application of tokenization technology, the government will provide guidelines to clarify that the register of bondholders can be stored on a distributed ledger, and will explore the electronic signing of issuance documents, as well as promote the electronicization of bearer bonds.</p>
<p>Regarding the framework for declaring crypto assets, the government will amend the &#34;Tax Ordinance&#34; to implement the OECD's crypto asset declaration framework and the newly revised Common Reporting Standard over the next two years, in line with international efforts to enhance tax transparency and combat cross-border tax evasion, and will submit a bill for amendment in the first half of the year.</p>
<h2>EnsembleTX Supports Round-the-Clock Settlement</h2>
<p>In addition, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched the trial phase of the Ensemble project (EnsembleTX) last November, allowing industry participants to conduct real transactions with tokenized deposits and digital assets in a controlled environment; it will continue to optimize the system to support round-the-clock settlement and implement local standards to enhance Hong Kong's connectivity with other markets.</p>
<p>As for the HKMA's commercial data initiative, it launched the Cargox project last year, aimed at leveraging freight logistics and trade data to optimize the digital ecosystem of trade finance. The government is actively following up on the recommendations of the Cargox expert group to promote Hong Kong as a global leading trade finance center and supply chain hub</p>

CRCL

ARKB

<p>The Hong Kong Budget 2026 proposes to establish a licensing system for digital asset trading and custody, as well as implement a framework for cryptocurrency reporting. The government plans to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance in the next two years to enhance tax transparency and combat cross-border tax evasion. At the same time, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's EnsembleTX project will support round-the-clock settlement, promoting real transactions of tokenized deposits and digital assets. The government is also actively advancing the Cargox project to optimize the digital ecosystem for trade financing, aiming to make Hong Kong a global leader in trade financing</p>

- The Hong Kong government plans to introduce a licensing system for digital asset service providers and will issue the first licenses for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers next month.  
- In addition, guidelines will be provided for the tokenization of bonds and electronic documentation as part of efforts to digitize financial instruments.  
- The government will also update the tax regulations to enhance transparency in crypto asset declarations and promote Hong Kong as a leading trade finance center within the global supply chain.

Stheadline

Circle

ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF

Grayscale Solana Staking ETF

VanEck Bitcoin ETF

Galaxy Digital

American Bitcoin

Siren ETF Trust Siren Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF

HASHKEY HLDGS

Bitdeer Tech

Bitwise Solana Staking ETF

ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF

Coinbase

iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF

Leverage Shares 2X Long CRCL Daily ETF

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF

CoinShares Bitcoin ETF

Amplify Transform Data Sharing ETF

Franklin Bitcoin ETF

Hut 8 Mining

Riot Platforms

Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund - ETF

Mara

Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF

WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund

Fiscal Budget 2026 | Establish a licensing system for digital asset trading and custody, and plan to implement a cryptocurrency reporting framework