Hong Kong Launches Third Tokenized Bond Round Amid Digital Asset Push

Hong Kong is advancing its leadership in Asia’s crypto finance landscape, with a strategic push to cement tokenized bonds as a routine instrument in its debt market. At the Hong Kong Digital Finance Awards 2025, Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui unveiled plans for the third issuance of tokenized green bonds, following successful launches in 2023 and 2024. These bonds, settled via distributed‑ledger technology, mark Hong Kong’s sustained commitment to digital innovation.

Hui emphasized the government’s ambition to institutionalize tokenized bond issuance, making it a recurring feature of its fiscal toolkit. To catalyze adoption, authorities are evaluating tax incentives, including stamp duty exemptions for transfers of tokenized ETFs, a signal of Hong Kong’s broader intent to support digital assets.

Digital Asset Strategy: LEAP Framework

At the heart of this initiative is Hong Kong’s Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0, which introduces the “LEAP” framework—encompassing Legal clarity, Ecosystem growth, Asset tokenization, and Professional talent cultivation. Key components include:

1. Digital Bond Expansion: Institutional backing for regular tokenized bond offerings.
2. Stablecoin Regulation: A licensing regime effective August 1 will govern stablecoin issuance, to facilitate real-world utility.
3. Trading and Custody Oversight: Public consultation on licensing rules for digital-asset trading platforms and custodians—open through end‑August.
4. Onshore Benchmarking: The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has launched Bitcoin and Ethereum indexes tailored to Asian market hours, aiming to boost institutional investor confidence with reliable price references.

Derivatives and ETFs: Rounding Out the Ecosystem

Building on momentum from recent spot crypto ETF and futures approvals, Hong Kong is extending its reach into crypto derivatives, targeting professional investors. The authorization of HashKey for staking underscores a widening digital asset ecosystem, integrally linked to Web3 ambitions . With the Legislative Council’s passage of the Stablecoin Bill, Hong Kong is solidifying legal foundations for these innovations, reinforcing its trajectory toward becoming a major global digital asset hub.