28th August 2025 – (Hong Kong) The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced on Thursday that the Special Administrative Region (SAR) plays a crucial role in shaping global cryptocurrency regulations, echoing calls from industry stakeholders for further expansion within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
These statements were delivered as the Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference commenced at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
This development follows the recent implementation of Hong Kong’s new framework overseeing stablecoins, a category of cryptocurrency typically linked to fiat currencies, marking another significant milestone in the city’s advancement of its digital asset sector.
During a morning panel at the conference, Clarence Shen, a fintech policy formulation manager at the SFC, emphasised the “incremental” advancements witnessed in Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency sector in recent years, underscoring the SAR’s potential to contribute to global blockchain-based virtual asset governance.
Shen remarked, “We have observed a global convergence in regulatory approaches at the SFC, with many major jurisdictions transitioning from lighter regulatory touchpoints to more investor-centric frameworks. Hong Kong is actively participating in various multilateral forums and engaging in bilateral discussions with regulators worldwide. Our aim in Hong Kong and at the SFC is not solely to comply with global regulations but to actively shape and set standards globally.”
Echoing Shen’s sentiments, Marco Lim, an independent non-executive director at Boyaa Interactive, a SAR-listed company with significant bitcoin holdings, predicted a surge in institutional utilization of tokens, digital assets built on blockchain, to enrich the industry’s ecosystem further.
Lim stated, “We are witnessing the rise of numerous digital asset treasury companies, marking just the beginning of traditional financial markets integrating into the crypto space. This year has been remarkable in this regard. However, what lies ahead is the potential for these digital treasury companies, with their substantial assets, to leverage tokens for ecosystem incubation, fostering further industry growth.”
Furthermore, Lim emphasized the need for enhanced investor protection through increased education on virtual assets within the SAR. Despite regulatory measures governing virtual asset trading platform operators (VATPs) and the introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether, Hong Kong trails behind regional counterparts in crypto education, Lim highlighted.
Lim pointed out, “Hong Kong remains relatively underdeveloped in this market. Currently, only two to three percent of the city’s seven million residents own cryptocurrencies. Despite the availability of relevant ETFs and VATPs, further emphasis on education, particularly investor education about the rationale behind investing in this asset class, is imperative.”
The Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference also delves into various critical themes such as stablecoins’ impact on Asia’s financial landscape, bitcoin’s influence on the younger generation, bitcoin ETFs, and bitcoin treasury innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Key speakers include Eric Trump, son of former US President Donald Trump, scheduled for two sessions on Friday afternoon. This event serves as the regional iteration of the Bitcoin Conference, a prominent global cryptocurrency gathering.
