Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) launched a regulatory framework on Monday for piloting the trading of eligible tokenised investment products in the city, a statement showed.
The framework will mainly facilitate secondary trading of SFC-authorised open-ended funds on SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platforms, and will broaden retail investors’ access to regulated trading services, the regulator said.
The move builds on the SFC’s tokenisation scheme introduced in November 2023 and aims to boost digital asset trading activity in Hong Kong, the SFC said.
New framework measures tackle issues such as investor protection and trading beyond regular trading hours of the underlying securities.
“This initiative allows a traditional securities product, once tokenised, to be traded in the evening and on weekends, and supported by the use of regulated stablecoins and tokenised deposits to facilitate round-the-clock liquidity, satisfying demand of investors reacting to an increasingly fast-moving and uncertain market environment,” said Julia Leung, the SFC’s chief executive officer.
The initial batch of products traded under the framework is expected to focus on tokenised money market funds. The regulator may widen the scope of the product after reviewing trading operations.
Reuters
