Author: Nancy, PANews

On June 26, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government issued the "Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0", which once again made clear that the SAR government is committed to building Hong Kong into a global innovation center in the field of digital assets, and proposed the "LEAP" four major strategic frameworks, including optimizing laws and regulations, expanding the types of tokenized products, and promoting application scenarios and cross-sector cooperation.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the far-reaching impact of this policy change on Hong Kong, PANews interviewed Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group. In the interview, Dr. Xiao shared his unique insights on the Policy Declaration 2.0, believing that this policy marks a key step for Hong Kong to shift from a digital asset "experimental field" to global development, and evolve in the direction of "institutionalization, scale, and globalization". In the future, compliance will be the ticket. At the same time, Dr. Xiao also further elaborated on how HashKey, driven by policies, deepens its in-depth layout in stablecoins, RWA, compliance platform construction and other fields, helping Hong Kong become a global digital asset hub.

Q1 : How do you understand the Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0 ? What are the major differences between it and the 2022 version?

Xiao Feng ： Policy Declaration 2.0 is not a simple continuation, but an institutional upgrade . It systematically promotes compliance supervision, asset tokenization, scenario expansion, and talent development around the "LEAP" strategic framework. This indicates that Hong Kong is not only a "test field" for digital assets, but has also begun to evolve in the direction of "institutionalization, scale, and globalization."

The key changes are in three aspects:

1. Stablecoins will be brought under regulation : It is clear that the stablecoin licensing system will be officially implemented on August 1, 2025. This is one of the few jurisdictions in the world that truly gives stablecoins a "landing pass";

2. RWA tokenization is considered a key industry : the government not only promotes the regular issuance of bonds, but also plans to include gold, green energy, electric vehicle assets, etc. in the scope of tokenization;

3. Tokenized ETFs and digital asset funds enjoy tax exemptions : If legislation is passed in the future, tokenized ETFs will enjoy the same stamp duty exemptions and capital gains tax exemptions as traditional ETFs , which is a rewrite of the rules of the game in the financial market.

These reforms send a signal: Hong Kong not only supports Web3 , but also wants to use systems to make Web3 a part of the financial infrastructure.

At the regulatory policy level, the update of Hong Kong’s Web3 policy has also completed the “three-in-one” system closed loop:

1. Regulatory certainty : Hong Kong will become the first jurisdiction in the world to clearly stipulate the independent licensing of digital asset custody services;

2. Asset penetration : Allowing real-world assets (metals, energy) and financial instruments (bonds, ETFs) to be tokenized on an equal footing, breaking the boundary between virtual and real;

3. Tax competitiveness : Tokenized ETF tax exemption + digital asset fund capital gains tax exemption.

This marks Hong Kong's official advancement from a " regulatory test field " to a " global issuance and circulation hub for RWA ( Real World Assets ) " .

Q2: Why has stablecoin become a policy focus? How does HashKey participate in this trend?

Xiao Feng: Stablecoins are evolving from “tool currencies” to “infrastructure currencies.” Recently, when the Senate Stablecoin Act was passed, the U.S. Treasury Secretary mentioned that by 2030, there will be $3.7 trillion to $3.9 trillion in stablecoins in circulation around the world, which is an incremental market that exceeds the financial size of most countries.

Hong Kong's institutional design is very clear, and it sets rules for stablecoin issuers, such as legal reserve management, redemption mechanism, and risk prudential requirements . It makes stablecoins no longer a "club agreement" between technical people, but a currency with both legal and technical attributes that can be accepted by banks, cross-border settlement systems, and the public sector.

HashKey will be deeply involved in three aspects in the future:

• Support the listing of global compliant stablecoins on HashKey Exchange, serving cross-border e-commerce and global users to improve payment efficiency;

• Pilot on-chain stablecoin settlement through compliant platforms and optimize the clearing mechanism between OTC and exchanges;

• Participate in the design of mapping combination products of stablecoins and RWAs , such as building on-chain interest rate products through stablecoin-anchored bonds, money market funds, etc.

Q3 : RWA is another highlight of the policy. What far-reaching impacts will it bring?

Xiao Feng: RWA is a digital asset that is a channel to support the real economy. The Declaration 2.0 not only promotes the normalization of government tokenized bonds, but also plans to include precious metals, green energy, warehousing and logistics, etc. into tokenized objects. This is not symbolic support, but a reform pilot at the asset level .

More importantly,

• The government will grant stamp duty exemptions for tokenized ETFs ;

• The HKMA promotes tokenized interbank deposit settlement through the Ensemble platform ;

• Cyberport works with regulators to advance digital asset regulatory technology and compliance sandbox .

All these illustrate one thing: Hong Kong not only wants to develop Web3 , but also wants to make Web3 and traditional finance truly integrated and run.

As a compliance platform, HashKey will actively participate in:

• Continue to work on building RWA on-chain infrastructure through HashKey Chain;

• Explore secondary market trading mechanisms for compliant RWAs;

• Work with traditional financial institutions to build a new financial scenario of “ bonds + tokens + settlement ”.

Q4 : What impact will the new policy have on Crypto Native ?

Xiao Feng ： The industry used to be two extremes: on one side are digital native assets such as BTC and ETH that are completely on the chain, and on the other side are completely traditional systems. But now, the emergence of stablecoins and RWA has opened up the gap between the two, which is the " digital twin ". Its essence is the on-chain mapping of real-world assets, and it is the asset-level Web3. For example, the income rights of green electricity, warehouse receipts of automobile storage, government bonds, gold...all measurable and owned data can be turned into tradable assets on the chain. The judgment logic behind this is that we have entered the "main chain-dominated" stage from the "multi-chain prosperity", no longer pursuing the competition of hundreds of chains in quantity, but returning to the competition of infrastructure quality. Whoever can carry RWA and compliance mechanisms will win. The introduction of the new policy has further confirmed our observation of the Web3 industry. The future will usher in a big explosion in the era of digital twins, and compliance is the ticket.

Q5 : The policy also mentions international collaboration, tax system optimization, and talent strategy. What long-term impact will this have on the industry?

Xiao Feng: These policies may seem peripheral, but they are actually the moat for building a financial-grade ecosystem :

• International cooperation : Hong Kong will work with OECD, IOSCO and other institutions to build a cross-border regulatory framework and promote mutual recognition of compliance;

• Tax incentives : Digital asset funds and family offices that invest in tokenized assets will be exempt from profits tax ;

• Talent cultivation : The government has included Web3, AI, and blockchain in the list of key talents, and guided universities and start-ups to jointly establish a “Web3 talent channel.”

These are not short-term stimuli, but rather the establishment of supporting mechanisms to anchor certainty, so that international capital, manpower and technology will dare to invest in the Hong Kong market in the long term.

Q6 : With such favorable policies, how does HashKey position itself?

Xiao Feng ： Our positioning is to provide reliable digital asset services to global users, and we are committed to becoming a bridge connecting traditional finance and the digital economy, promoting the popularization of digital assets and the advent of the new era of Web3. We will not follow the old path of "competing for coins to be listed on exchanges", but will establish a trinity system of high liquidity + low slippage + compliance licenses , so that institutions and pragmatic users are willing to come, can come, and stay. We will also become one of the most important deposit and withdrawal partners of many virtual asset exchanges, providing highly competitive fiat currency channel services in multiple markets. In the face of institutional dividends, we will continue to build Hong Kong's new generation of financial infrastructure and actively participate in Web3 policy discussions .