Hong Kong defends ’same activity, same risk, same regulation’ as it scales tokenization and readies stablecoin licences
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan defended the city’s digital-asset framework at a Davos session, reiterating the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation.” He said digital assets should serve the real economy while being subject to robust safeguards for financial stability, market integrity and investor protection. Chan outlined existing measures: licensing for virtual asset trading platforms, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) pilots for tokenized deposits and digital-asset trading, and a planned rollout of stablecoin licences expected in Q1. Since 2023 Hong Kong has issued three tranches of tokenized green bonds totaling about $2.1 billion, showing growing adoption of tokenization. The city’s Financial Technology 2030 (DART) strategy prioritizes data, AI, resilience and tokenization with 40+ initiatives. Examples of market activity include CMB’s tokenized $3.8 billion USD money-market fund on BNB Chain and cross-border blockchain trade-finance pilots involving Brazil’s Banco Inter and Chainlink. For traders: the announcements increase regulatory clarity and infrastructure support for tokenized assets and stablecoins, likely encouraging greater institutional participation, expanding regional liquidity pools and accelerating new tokenized products. Monitor stablecoin licence rollouts, HKMA pilots and tokenized bond/product issuance — these developments can create tradable supply, affect on-chain liquidity and influence flows into tokenized instruments and related platforms.
Bullish
Regulatory clarity and infrastructure progress in Hong Kong — notably the ‘same activity, same risk, same regulation’ stance, active HKMA tokenization pilots, issuance of tokenized green bonds and imminent stablecoin licences — are broadly supportive for crypto markets tied to tokenized assets and stablecoins. Short-term impact: modest positive sentiment as markets price in clearer rules and potential new product supply; traders may see increased liquidity and demand for platforms and tokens involved in tokenization and stablecoin rails. Long-term impact: meaningful uplift in institutional adoption and product innovation as a regulated environment reduces compliance uncertainty and encourages banks, fund managers and issuers to tokenize assets. This should increase tradable supply of tokenized instruments, deepen on-chain liquidity, and support higher activity for chains/platforms used for tokenization. Risks that could temper gains include slower-than-expected licence rollouts, tighter implementation details, or broader macro volatility. Overall, the balance of effects favors bullish outcomes for tokenization-related assets and stablecoin-linked markets.