Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau plans to hire additional personnel responsible for AI and virtual asset regulation, aiming to investigate companies involved in virtual asset trading.

ChainCatcher news reports that the Hong Kong Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has submitted the upcoming fiscal year's budget to the Hong Kong Legislative Council, proposing a 3.5% salary increase to support regulatory work in key and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual assets, and suggesting the addition of 15 new positions.

According to reports, the Hong Kong FRC previously released a report stating that companies involved in virtual asset trading are considered emerging industry projects and will be among the inspection targets. Additionally, auditors currently face challenges including verifying ownership and existence of virtual assets, valuation complexities, increased fraud risks, and the lack of unified accounting standards for virtual assets.