According to (Block), the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong government said that Hong Kong will expand its existing tax incentives to cover cryptocurrency investments by the end of this year. Regulators also plan to approve more licenses for crypto asset trading platforms by the end of the year.
A senior Hong Kong finance official said the government plans to extend existing tax breaks for private equity funds and family offices to crypto investments.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui said today in a speech at Hong Kong Fintech Week that the government plans to extend tax incentives for certain investments, including cryptocurrencies, by the end of this year.
“Hopefully, by expanding the scope of tax benefits and making more assets eligible for our fund and family office regulation, we can provide additional impetus for the further development of the Hong Kong market,” said Hui Chi-hang.
Hong Kong is actively welcoming crypto companies. In June 2023, Hong Kong officially launched a licensing system for crypto trading platforms, allowing licensed exchanges to provide retail trading services. So far, the regulator has granted three licenses to OSL Exchange, HashKey Exchange and HKVAX.
At the event on Monday, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan also said that the Securities and Futures Commission is actively evaluating applications from crypto asset trading platforms and “we expect to issue more licenses in the coming months.”
Chan said the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the region’s de facto central bank, also plans to introduce stablecoin-related legislation this year, following the launch of a stablecoin regulatory sandbox in March.
According to Chan, the government is also reviewing the design of over-the-counter trading regulation and will release a second round of consultation next year, followed by the introduction of a licensing system for crypto custodial service providers.
