Hong Kong just took another concrete step toward becoming Asia’s most comprehensively regulated crypto hub. On May 26, the city’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published consultation conclusions on proposed licensing frameworks for virtual asset advisory and management service providers.
The licensing architecture maps neatly onto Hong Kong’s existing Securities and Futures Ordinance. Virtual asset advisory activities will align with Type 4 regulated activities, which currently govern securities advice. Management services, meanwhile, fall under Type 9, the category for asset management.
Both licensing regimes will sit under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), the same legal umbrella that already covers virtual asset dealing and custody services following conclusions published in December 2025.
Capital requirements have been outlined with surprising specificity. Entities will need minimum paid-up capital of HK$5 million. For firms that handle client assets, the liquid capital requirement rises to HK$3 million. Firms that don’t hold client assets face a much lower bar: HK$100,000 in liquid capital.
