Hong Kong accelerates RWA tokenization and crypto assets licensing in new policy statement.

Gate News bot reported that the Hong Kong SAR government announced a new important policy statement on digital assets today, aimed at consolidating its position as a global encryption hub.

The policy statement 2.0 from Hong Kong includes the "LEAP" framework, which is based on the initial policy framework released in October 2022 and aims to promote the development of the local digital asset industry through four key initiatives.

The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan, stated: "Through blockchain technology, we can achieve more efficient and lower-cost financial transactions, thereby providing more inclusive financial services."

"The 'Policy Statement 2.0' outlines our vision for the development of digital identity authentication (DA) and demonstrates the practical applications of tokenization through use cases, aiming to promote diversification of use cases."

Such policy statements are important indicators of the government's future strategies in addressing the encryption currency industry. Since the release of the last encryption currency policy document in 2022, Hong Kong has introduced multiple measures, including a licensing system for encryption currency exchanges and an upcoming framework for stablecoin issuance.

The latest policy statement states that the government plans to simplify the legal and regulatory framework for encryption service providers by establishing a comprehensive regulatory system for digital asset exchanges, stablecoin issuers, trading service providers, and custodians.

According to the new policy, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will become the main supervisory authority for the upcoming licensing system for digital asset dealers and custodians, while the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will lead the legal review to promote the tokenization of real-world assets.

The policy also details measures to expand the range of tokenized products, including regulating the issuance of tokenized government bonds and incentivizing the tokenization of risk-weighted assets (RWA) to enhance their liquidity and accessibility. This includes clarifying the tax rules for tokenized exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and supporting the secondary market trading of these tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges.

In addition, Hong Kong will promote the tokenization of a wider range of assets in fields such as precious metals, non-ferrous metals, and renewable energy.

To promote use cases and cross-department collaboration, the Hong Kong government stated that it will facilitate cooperation among regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies, and technology providers to develop digital asset infrastructure.

According to the press release, the Financial Services Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission plan to conduct public consultations on the licensing system for digital asset trading service providers and custodians in the near future.