Chen Haolian: Government plans to regulate over-the-counter trading of virtual assets

Chen Haolian, Deputy Director of Financial and Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong, said that the third generation of the Internet (Web 3.0) can solve many financial transaction and business operation problems, reduce costs and improve efficiency, and the Special Administrative Region government embraces relevant opportunities. He mentioned that many European financial technology companies are interested in developing in Hong Kong and entering the Asian and mainland markets through Hong Kong. He emphasized that Hong Kong's regulatory path in the relevant field is clear and can make enterprises develop their business with peace of mind. Chen Haolian said at the Financial Technology Week Forum that in the future, the regulatory framework will be further improved according to market development, including expanding the regulation of off-exchange trading of virtual assets. The Financial Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will also issue consultation papers on the regulatory system for stablecoin issuers to collect opinions from the industry and the public. The authorities also consulted the industry on guidelines for banks to provide virtual asset custody services, hoping to fully protect customer assets. He also mentioned that the Securities and Futures Commission issued a circular yesterday on the tokenization of assets to clarify regulatory expectations.