YIP Chi Hang: Hong Kong Adopts a Cautious and Consistent Regulatory Approach, February Roadmap Progress at About 65%

BlockBeats News, November 4th, Eric Yip, a member of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Executive Committee, stated at the Hong Kong Finternet 2025 Asia Digital Asset Summit that Hong Kong's regulatory legislation for digital assets still needs more time. It requires appropriate legislation that evolves dynamically and listens to the voices of this dynamic market and industry to ensure that the regulatory approach stays up to date.

The SFC is not the fastest or most aggressive regulatory body and currently follows a prudent and consistent regulatory approach. In February of this year, the SFC released a roadmap, with the overall implementation progress currently at 65%, hoping to describe it as 100% or even 110% by this time next year.

On February 19, 2025, the SFC unveiled the "ASPIRe" roadmap at the Consensus Hong Kong 2025 forum, enhancing the security, innovation, and growth of Hong Kong's virtual asset market through a five-pillar framework to drive the sustainable development of the virtual asset ecosystem. The roadmap covers 12 key initiatives, including streamlining market access processes, strengthening protective mechanisms (such as custody and insurance standards), expanding product offerings (such as considering open virtual asset pledging, derivative trading, and margin loans), upgrading infrastructure (such as hot/cold wallet security management), and enhancing collaboration with stakeholders. Ashley Alder, the CEO of the SFC, emphasized that the core of this roadmap is to expand the services of Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) while ensuring compliance and investor protection to strengthen Hong Kong's position as a global hub for virtual asset liquidity.