Hong Kong has finalized licensing rules for crypto advisors and virtual asset fund managers, bringing another part of the city’s digital asset market under formal regulatory supervision.
The new consultation conclusions cover virtual asset advisory service providers and virtual asset management service providers. The framework follows Hong Kong’s same-business, same-risk, same-rules approach, aligning crypto advisory activity with Type 4 advising on securities and crypto management activity with Type 9 asset management under the Securities and Futures Ordinance.
The move extends Hong Kong’s virtual asset rulebook beyond trading platforms, dealers and custodians. Crypto advisors that give recommendations on whether, when or how virtual assets should be bought or sold will fall inside the new advisory regime. Fund managers handling portfolios with direct virtual asset exposure will move into the management regime, with licensing obligations built under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance.
The consultation received 51 submissions from market participants, industry groups, professional bodies and individuals. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Securities and Futures Commission will now finalize the legislative proposals, with a bill planned for introduction into the Legislative Council in 2026.
Hong Kong Tightens The Full Digital Asset Stack
The new rules are designed to close gaps between crypto trading, advice, custody and portfolio management. Existing intermediaries that currently operate under SFC-imposed terms and conditions will need to move into the new standalone regimes once the rules take effect. There will be no automatic deeming arrangement for existing advisory or management providers, although an expedited approval process is planned for licensed corporations and registered institutions already active in these services.
The active-marketing rule is also important. Overseas firms that market virtual asset advisory or management services to the Hong Kong public can fall within the regime even if they operate outside the city. That gives the SFC a clearer route to police offshore websites, influencers, trading-signal businesses and discretionary managers targeting Hong Kong clients.
The licensing package fits Hong Kong’s wider ASPIRe roadmap, which aims to expand access, strengthen safeguards and bring more regulated products into the market. The city is already building regulated rails around exchanges, tokenized assets and stablecoins, including the recent HKDAP Ethereum mainnet transfer test for a planned Hong Kong dollar stablecoin.
For institutions, the signal is clear: Hong Kong wants crypto participation, but through licensed channels. The same direction is reshaping crypto exchange regulation globally as regulators move from broad warnings to detailed rules covering custody, marketing, client assets, product access and operational controls. The next milestone is the 2026 bill, which will decide how quickly advisors and fund managers must adjust before the new regimes become live law.
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