Hong Kong will submit virtual asset legislation proposals within the year, including mandatory licensing and private key security management—an era of compliance is coming.

According to a report by hket, a message from BIjie News said that Hong Kong’s Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chen Haolian, stated that the authorities plan to submit virtual asset management legislative proposals to the Legislative Council within the year. The proposals will cover trading, custody, providing advisory services, and asset management, and will also implement a mandatory licensing arrangement. The new framework will be advanced based on the principle of “the same business, the same risks, the same rules,” and will strengthen private key management and customer asset security. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said that applications for virtual asset licenses continue to increase, but licensing will focus on balancing quality and market capacity.