Hong Kong Stands by Digital Assets Amid UAE Competition; Licenses Loom for Dealers and Custodians

Hong Kong remains a committed, transparent, and predictable hub for digital assets despite intensifying competition from the UAE, which has established aggressive, single-authority regulation. At Consensus Hong Kong, Joseph Chan, Under-Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, and Johnny Ng, founder of Goldford Group, highlighted the need for a unified regulator in Hong Kong to coordinate oversight of virtual assets. Under Hong Kong’s mandatory licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms, 11 licenses have been issued since 2023. The first batch of stablecoin licenses is targeted for Q1 2026, with legislation for digital asset dealers and custodians expected later this year following extensive consultation.