Hong Kong plans to fully incorporate virtual asset trading, custody, investment advisory, and asset management businesses into license regulation, and submit a draft amendment within the year According to BlockBeats, on June 2nd, the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced that following the implementation of the licensing system for virtual asset trading platforms and the regulatory system for stablecoin issuers, the next phase of Hong Kong will establish a unified regulatory framework covering virtual asset trading, custody, investment advisory, and asset management services, further improving the digital asset ecosystem. According to the disclosure plan, any institution engaged in virtual asset trading, custody, providing investment advice or asset management business in Hong Kong must, in principle, obtain a license or registration from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and the regulatory scope will correspond to Class 1 (securities trading), Class 4 (investment advisors) and Class 9 (asset management) regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. For virtual asset custody services, regulatory focus will be on private key management and customer asset security risks. The Hong Kong government has stated that there are currently 13 licensed virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong, and 2 stablecoin issuer licenses have been issued. The future regulatory framework will be implemented based on the principle of "same business, same risk, same rules", requiring licensed institutions to meet strict standards in terms of capital strength, risk management, financial reporting, professional competence, and customer asset protection. It is worth noting that the authorities have clearly stated that they will not set up a transitional arrangement for existing service providers to be deemed to have obtained a license, and relevant institutions need to actively apply for a license or registration qualification. Meanwhile, any unlicensed or unregistered institution shall not actively promote relevant virtual asset services to the Hong Kong public within or outside of Hong Kong. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong has revealed that relevant legislative proposals are currently being formulated, with the goal of submitting a revised bill to the Legislative Council by 2026. Market participants believe that if the new system is implemented, Hong Kong will become one of the few digital asset jurisdictions in the world that covers the full chain supervision of trading platforms, stablecoins, custody, investment advisory, and asset management, further strengthening its position as an international digital asset center. [Original link]