Hong Kong Investment Immigration accepts BTC, Ether for the first time as assets, an overview of the application process details

In this dialogue, Hong Kong accountant Siu Yiu Wo shared two successful cases of using BTC and Ethereum as proof of investment immigration assets, and discussed the relevant policies and application processes in Hong Kong, revealing the gradual recognition of cryptocurrency in Hong Kong. (Synopsis: Chinese can buy Hong Kong BTC ETF? Central Bank: Will expand mainland investment in legal financial products in Hong Kong and Macao) (Background supplement: Encryption lawyer: Is the latest Hong Kong Stable Coin bill an innovation catalyst or a regulatory shackle? In this dialogue, Hong Kong accountant Siu Yiu and Tong Wu shared the latest investment immigration case progress and related policy trends of his clients. On 7 February 2025, a client used Ethereum worth HK$30 million as proof of assets to apply to InvestHK for investment immigration, which was approved. In October 2024, a client using BTC as proof of assets was also approved, the first case in Hong Kong to use Cryptocurrency as an asset to apply for investment immigration approval. Most of the relevant customers are from mainland China. Mr. Siu is the Deputy Managing Partner of Hongyuan CPA Limited and has over 25 years of experience in the accounting and auditing industry. He has held key positions such as chief accountant and administrative manager in Hong Kong joint exchange listed companies and multinational companies. Please introduce these two cases of cryptocurrency being used as asset proof for investment immigration Xiao Yaohe: There are two temporary cases of customer success using cryptocurrency to prove assets, the first case is in October 2024, using BTC (Bitcoin). This time is the second success story, using Ethereum (ETH). There are two others currently in the works. In the Immigrant Investor Program, the government or our accountants are required to submit a report proving that a person owns an asset of HK$30 million. Like BTC or Cryptocurrency (Crypto) can also be used as an asset, it is recognized. So this investment immigration program does not require you to invest in Hong Kong, as long as you hold assets worth HK$30 million? Xiao Yaohe: This is just the first step. First, applicants need to prove that they own HK$30 million in assets, regardless of where they are – whether in Hong Kong, China, Africa, Australia. After proving that the assets are correct, pass the first level, after which you need to bring funds to Hong Kong for investment, and you must invest in designated assets, in simple terms, invest in stocks and bonds of listed companies. You have to put money into Hong Kong. At present, these two customers, one using BTC and the other using Ethereum, have passed the capital verification of the first step, proving that they have an asset of 30 million Hong Kong coins. The second step below is that they need to bring 30 million HK coins to Hong Kong for investment within half a year. Can this investment only be invested in stocks, not in assets like BTC, Ethereum's ETFs, etc.? Siu Yaohe: The original intention of this investment immigration program is mainly to require speculators to invest in Hong Kong's stock market, capital market and bond market, which is the most important. If you want to invest in other ways, such as ETFs you mentioned, there is a slight possibility. Because one way is that first you need to invest HKD 30 million in a limited partnership fund company that you set up yourself. The company is 100% owned by you and you can regulate the company, but there are no clear requirements for how to invest within the company. Whether the 30 million Hong Kong coins can invest in Hong Kong-local issuance's BTC ETF is uncertain. If HSBC sells you this product, they must register with InvestHK and provide a certificate to prove it. If they can issue a certificate, it is equivalent to a product that can be invested in. So the process of investment immigration is, first prove that they have 30 million Hong Kong coin assets (BTC and Ethereum can be used), and the Hong Kong government will issue them a two-year visa? Xiao Yaohe: No, you still need to complete the investment within half a year, and the certificate will be issued after completion, the period is two years, and it will be renewed after two years. When renewing, you need to prove that the investment is continuing. Every year you need an accountant to come up with a report to prove that the total amount of investment is not less than 30 million HK coins and to ensure that you have not transferred other investments after the investment. However, it does not matter whether the investment is a loss or not. Cryptocurrency assets can be placed on large exchanges such as Cold Wallet or Coin An to prove that both methods are feasible. Review of the first case of the Hong Kong government approving cryptocurrency assets Xiao Yaohe: The customers who use cryptocurrency as assets to apply for investment immigration are basically from the mainland. There shouldn't be many other cryptocurrency-related investment immigration cases, because in October 2024, I called InvestHK and asked if there were any similar cases, and they said no. So I was the first. The first case was in October 2024. They said they had never dealt with a similar case and told me, "It's okay, you do it first, let's discuss it internally." Then about a month later, the first case was successfully approved. My side did not participate in their communication, mainly they themselves were discussing this matter internally. In addition to BTC and Ethereum, will the Hong Kong government recognize other coins such as USDT? Xiao Yaohe: In fact, there is no official response, there is no official clear statement, indicating which goods are recognized and which are not, they are all crossing the river by feeling the stones. You can try other coins, but at the moment we offer two success stories. But from my perspective, the key is the liquidity of these cryptocurrencies and whether they have a very solid market value. However, there are also comments that in Singapore, cryptocurrency has always been able to be used as proof of assets, and the difficulty is that customers cannot provide proof of initial investment funds in Cryptocurrency. According to the AiYing Compliance article, the biggest hurdle is indeed Proof of Funding (SOF). There is a classic contradiction in the cryptocurrency circle - "the coin can be obtained, the money is not clear". Early players had a lot of "black history": many people got coins through mining, over-the-counter trading and even "fren gifts" in their early years, and they couldn't get bank statements or transaction records at all. Exchange "thunderstorm" drags its feet: platforms such as FTX and coin have had compliance problems, and some users' historical data has been lost or not recognized by regulators. Anonymity is a double-edged sword: although the Block chain is transparent, it is difficult to directly link WalletAddress to real people's identities, and it is difficult for accountants and immigration authorities to trace the source of funds. For example, a large account spent 1 million Hong Kong coins to buy BTC in 2017, and it is now worth 10 million Hong Kong coins. But the transfer record of that year has long been gone, or the cash transaction was used, how to prove that the 100,000 is legal income? I can't explain this, and the immigration application is directly cool. Therefore, it is recommended to leave evidence from the first day: the transfer record of the purchased coin, the exchange bill, the tax certificate, even a handwritten receipt, is better than nothing. Related Stories Is it possible for Hong Kong to offer Compliance virtual asset trading to Chinese users? Hong Kong virtual asset market in 2024: 7 exchanges, 31 brokers, 36 asset management Lawyer analysis: Hong Kong Cryptocurrency OTC withdrawal, is it really safe and legal? "Hong Kong Investment Immigration Accepts BTC and Ethereum as Assets for the First Time, List of Application Process Details" This article was first published in BlockTempo's "Dynamic Trend - The Most Influential Block Chain News Media".