Hong Kong government reaffirms end-2026 deadline for crypto licensing bill

Hong Kong has repeated its timetable for the next big piece of its crypto rulebook. The government plans to send a bill to the Legislative Council by the end of 2026 that would license four types of virtual asset businesses: dealing, custody, advisory and management. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui confirmed the target during a Legislative Council Finance Committee policy briefing on October 5, 2026. With fewer than three months left in the year, the deadline is no longer abstract. What the bill would actually do The proposal comes jointly from the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). It would be made as an amendment under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, known as Cap. 615. The four licensing regimes would all be supervised by the SFC. Together, they extend oversight into areas that have so far sat outside the city’s main crypto framework. Dealing: This covers over-the-counter (OTC) trading, the desks that match large buyers and sellers away from public exchange order books. Custody: This targets firms that hold private keys on behalf of clients. Advis...