Author: Longdian DAO

"Hong Kong is currently one of the most free economies in the world and also one of the three major international financial centers. Under the 'one country, two systems' principle, Hong Kong has a tradition of the rule of law, independent judicial power, and a common law system similar to other global financial centers, along with the advantages of free capital movement and a low tax regime. Hong Kong is committed to becoming a global digital asset innovation center. In recent years, the government has actively built a regulatory framework and released the Policy Declaration 2.0 on digital asset development last June, aimed at establishing a trusted and innovative digital asset ecosystem. Among them, the stablecoin regulations implemented last August established a licensing system for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is actively processing related applications, with the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses expected to be issued next month."

—— Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee, video address at Consensus 2026

Preface: A Historical Coincidence or a Strategic Necessity?

On February 6, 2026, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued its annual "No. 1 Announcement" —— "Regulatory Guidelines for the Offshore Issuance of Asset-Backed Securities Tokens of Domestic Assets". This document, with a regulatory wisdom of "combining openness and blockage", opens a compliant "going out" channel for the offshore tokenization of domestic real-world assets (RWA) for the first time (for details see: The Two-Year Dramatic Path of Chinese RWA: From Frenzy to Ban to Opening the Floodgates).

Just five days later, on February 11, 2026, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee made a video address at the Consensus 2026 conference, confidently declaring that "the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses will be issued next month".

One is "opening channels" in the mainland, and the other is "building infrastructure" in Hong Kong. These two seemingly independent but temporally coupled heavy signals jointly point to a clear future: 2026 will become the strategic year of RWA assets in China, and Hong Kong is destined to be an indispensable "super connector" in this grand narrative.

While people are still marveling at the positive implications of John Lee's latest speech, perhaps it is even more important to see the strategic layout behind it, as subtle as a snake's trail. What Hong Kong displays today is not a momentary impulse but the inevitable result of four years of careful consideration and step-by-step progress. At the heart of this is a more fundamental capability —— strategic resolve.

This is a foundational ability to see the essence amid clamor and doubt, to maintain direction amidst severe fluctuations. It clearly answers: Why can Hong Kong become a key hub connecting China and the world in the fierce global digital asset competition?

Through John Lee's latest speech, we can reflect on the extraordinary journey Hong Kong has taken over the past four years, witnessing how it has paved a starlit path to the digital future for global innovators with forward-looking layouts, systematic thinking, and firm determination, instilling boundless confidence in all builders.

Chapter One: 2022 —— Igniting the Fire of Vision Amidst the Crypto Winter

Let's turn the clock back to 2022. That year, the global crypto market was filled with despair, with the collapse of Terra/Luna, the bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital, and the sudden downfall of the FTX empire; the entire industry seemed to enter winter overnight. While many markets chose to retreat, Hong Kong released its first Policy Declaration on the Development of Virtual Assets on October 31, 2022.

This declaration was like thunder from a clear sky, clearly proposing to develop Hong Kong into a "global virtual asset center". At the moment when market confidence fell to a low point, the signal conveyed by this official document was far beyond the policy itself. It was a declaration announcing that Hong Kong would not only participate in this game but would also become one of the core players in setting the rules. It was a lighthouse, illuminating a clear eastern route for global Web3 builders who were lost in the winter.

The key words for that year were vision and breaking the deadlock. When speculators sold off in panic, true builders saw a historic opportunity to discard the false and preserve the true, reconstructing the landscape. Hong Kong seized this opportunity.

Chapter Two: 2025 —— Crossing from "Principle Initiative" to "Institutional Engineering"

If the declaration of 2022 was about "raising questions", then 2025 was a key year for "solving problems".

On June 26, 2025, nearly three years after the first declaration was released, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong officially released the "Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0" and introduced a systematic framework called "LEAP". This marked the official transition of Hong Kong's digital asset strategy from the "principle initiative" phase to the "institutional engineering" phase.

The "LEAP" framework, which stands for Legislation, Ecosystem, Application, and Propagation, builds a complete operational system for the development of digital assets in Hong Kong. It is no longer a series of scattered pilot projects but an all-encompassing strategic layout that covers top-level design, industry ecology, application implementation, and global promotion.

For the first time, Declaration 2.0 distinguished between "virtual assets" (VA) and the broader category of "digital assets" (Digital Assets) at the institutional level, including tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) and tokenization of government bonds in the core agenda. This is not merely a change of terminology; behind it lies a profound evolution of regulatory concepts —— from focusing on high-risk cryptocurrency trading to expanding into the vast blue ocean of empowering the real economy.

The key words for that year were deepening and expansion. Hong Kong's ambition is no longer satisfied with being a "cryptocurrency trading center" but aims to become a new global digital financial infrastructure capable of accommodating trillions of real-world assets on-chain.

Chapter Three: License Implementation —— Building the Foundation of Trust for a New World

Any grand narrative ultimately needs to be grounded on a solid institutional foundation. The license is that foundation.

Hong Kong understands that the core of finance is trust. After experiencing the industry's wild growth and chaos, only innovation built on a clear and robust regulatory framework can ensure long-term stability. Over the past two years, Hong Kong has steadily advanced the construction of the licensing system at a pace of "crossing the river by feeling the stones, but having a blueprint in mind".

As of now, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued licenses to 11 Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATP), and an additional 41 traditional brokerages have completed the upgrade to the No. 1 license for virtual asset business. The soon-to-be-issued stablecoin licenses are regarded as the "meridian" connecting the flow of funds between the digital world and the real world, and their strategic significance is self-evident.

From VATP licenses to stablecoin licenses, from spot ETFs to future RWA products, Hong Kong is building a "highway network" for the global digital asset market that combines innovative vitality with financial robustness.

The keyword for this phase is compliance and infrastructure. It signals the end of the era of rogue heroes and heralds the entrance of the "regular army".

Chapter Four: Data as Evidence —— Hong Kong's Confidence and Global Opportunities

In his speech, John Lee emphasized that Hong Kong has core advantages such as the rule of law, independent judicial power, common law system, free capital movement, and low tax regime. These institutional advantages, combined with its deep foundations as the world's third-largest financial center, form a powerful basis for Hong Kong's development of digital assets. A series of the latest macro data intuitively showcase the tremendous opportunities born from this confidence.

Behind these cold numbers is a vibrant and rapidly growing ecosystem. From top-notch scientific research talent to highly active capital markets to rapidly gathering Web3 startups, Hong Kong is forming a strong "gravitational field" that attracts global capital, technology, and talent.

As John Lee stated, Hong Kong will continue to be at the forefront of financial and technological transformation, welcoming global companies and institutions to jointly build the digital future. This is not just a polite welcome but an invitation filled with opportunities for global builders.

Conclusion: The Flow of Hong Kong, a Resilient Strategic Determination

From the declaration in 2022 to the blueprint in 2025, and to the implementation of licenses in 2026, Hong Kong's journey in digital assets demonstrates a rare and consistent strategic determination.

It has not lost its direction in the market's frenzy nor shaken its belief in the cold winter of cycles. With a wisdom of "strategically underestimating difficulties while tactically emphasizing risks", it steadily promotes the layout of each component. This strategic resolve is Hong Kong's most essential competitive edge in the historical process of restructuring the global digital financial landscape.

History has repeatedly proven that real opportunities are born at the moment regulatory frameworks are finally established. As the mainland opens up compliant paths for RWA to go overseas, and Hong Kong completes the last crucial puzzle piece with stablecoin licenses, a new era characterized by greater compliance, transparency, and liquidity is on the verge of emergence. The year 2026 is expected to be a year of great anticipation, as Chinese assets will set sail towards the global stage relying on Hong Kong licenses and policies.

For speculators, the feast may have ended; but for true builders, the best era has just begun. The flow of Hong Kong is relentless, witnessing the city's determination and future to embrace digital civilization, and extending the most sincere invitation to global innovators: join Hong Kong and co-build the digital future!

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。