A New Chapter in Hong Kong's Web3 Development: A Decade-Long Journey in Building a Digital Asset Ecosystem

On July 1, 2025, Hong Kong will celebrate the 28th anniversary of its return to the embrace of the motherland. From the former Pearl of the Orient to today's international financial center, this city has always stood at the forefront of global institutional integration and capital flow. Currently, Hong Kong is embarking on a new journey: using Web3 as the technological foundation and digital assets as the financial core, leveraging its global perspective and policy advantages to redefine the connotation of "financial center."

Hong Kong's Web3 journey is not just an industrial upgrade, but also an extension of the country's strategy of "leading high-quality development through technological innovation". It represents a historic leap in the deep integration of technological revolution and financial civilization. From establishing a financial free port, to the release of the virtual asset policy declaration in 2022, and then to the launch of the "Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0" (referred to as Policy Declaration 2.0) in 2025, this city has consistently responded to the uncertainties of the industry with the certainty of its policies.

The Policy Declaration 2.0 not only strengthens regulation but also undergoes institutional upgrades around the "LEAP" strategic framework. LEAP stands for Legal (compliance with laws), Expanding (expansion of asset tokenization), Advancing (expansion of application scenarios), and People (talent development), reflecting Hong Kong's comprehensive layout and long-term planning in the digital asset field.

The main measures include:

• Clarify the regulation of stablecoins, with the stablecoin licensing system officially implemented on August 1, 2025, setting a global precedent.
• Focus on tokenizing RWA, promote the normalization of bond issuance, and plan to include gold, green energy, and electric vehicle assets in the scope of tokenization.
• Provide stamp duty and capital gains tax exemptions for tokenized ETFs and digital asset funds to enhance tax competitiveness.
• The number of digital asset trading platform licenses has increased to 11, gradually opening up derivatives and leveraged financing channels.
• Promote talent development, the Cyberport Innovation Fund collaborates with universities to build a Web3 talent ecosystem.

These measures reflect Hong Kong's high confidence in the compatibility and openness of its financial system, and are also a strategic choice to position Hong Kong as a "fortress" in the international financial game.

Technical Habitat, Capital Gateway, New Trust Frontier

The development of Web3 is not only a technological iteration but also a fundamental reshaping of the paradigms of efficiency and trust. In an era where the world is filled with both anticipation and concern for the new generation of financial infrastructure, Hong Kong has chosen a pragmatic and visionary path.

The "technology habitat" refers not only to the implementation of underlying technologies such as blockchain in Hong Kong but also to the empowerment of regulatory systems and financial scenarios, allowing it to truly emerge from the ivory tower of "code" and "white papers." Currently, mechanisms for on-chain asset issuance, clearing, and identity authentication have blossomed in multiple locations in Hong Kong, becoming public products in reality.

"Capital channel" means that Hong Kong not only continues to play a central role in the flow of offshore RMB and global capital markets, but also enables the previously disconnected systems of traditional finance and Web3 to connect. As a family office executive put it: "In Hong Kong, digital assets can finally be allocated in a portfolio just like funds and bonds."

"Trust New Frontiers" is not an abstract concept, but a reality being constructed by law, technology, and systems together. The immutability of on-chain transaction records, the verifiability of audit mechanisms, and the collaborative advancement of KYC and AML frameworks have rebuilt a trust system recognized by institutions for Web3. To some extent, Hong Kong has transformed "compliance" from a constraint into an accelerator.

In this innovative practice, a number of leading enterprises have emerged in Hong Kong, actively participating in and leading industrial transformation. Recently, a certain platform partnered with traditional financial institutions to launch Hong Kong's first on-chain securities product, with a trading volume exceeding HKD 200 million on its first day. The comprehensive account service launched by its licensed virtual asset exchange covers 90% of licensed brokers in Hong Kong, significantly lowering the participation threshold for institutions.

The "Hong Kong Question" in the New Global Order

Against the backdrop of the re-competition between the US dollar system and technology capital, China needs a new financial space that connects global resources, promotes the evolution of digital asset systems, and takes on pilot missions. Hong Kong is steadily positioned at the intersection of this global reshaping.

The emergence of Web3 policies is not coincidental, but rather an inevitable result of the choices of our time, supported by profound economic and technological logic behind it:

• Although the capital market has not yet migrated to the chain on a large scale, the efficiency of digital asset circulation on the chain has significantly improved. For example, on-chain settlement time has been reduced from the traditional T+2 to the second level, and transaction costs have decreased by more than 80%.
• The global fiat currency system continues to be under pressure, with the average number of interest rate hikes by major central banks worldwide in 2024 reaching the highest level in recent years, further driving the institutional demand for stablecoins as "technology-based currencies."
• The integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain is profoundly changing the underlying structure of finance, with on-chain credit, identity, and transaction logic creating a new framework of trust.
• The financial cognitive structure of the younger generation is undergoing a transformation, with trust shifting from licensed institutions to on-chain consensus mechanisms, driving the rapid growth of a new financial system.

Against this backdrop, the policy innovation space provided by Hong Kong, with the trust foundation accumulated as an international financial center and driven by Web3 policy 2.0, is accelerating its transformation into a global digital asset hub.

Hong Kong's role is no longer just a "regulatory testing ground" but has become a global hub for Web3 strategic resources, a two-way channel in Asia linking traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi), and also a regulatory coordinate for the compliant implementation of RWA and stablecoins.

It can be said that in an era where on-chain efficiency is continuously improving and the institutionalization of digital assets is on the rise, Hong Kong should inevitably play a leading role in the new global financial order.

Conclusion

2025 is a key turning point for Hong Kong to restart with digital sovereignty and institutional innovation. Web3 is not only a technological innovation but also a strategic anchor that Hong Kong has actively found in global governance, financial competition, and the reconstruction of technological paradigms. We are witnessing a new decade of digital economy belonging to Hong Kong, China, and even the world.