The Next Decade of Web3 in Hong Kong: Starting from This Moment

On July 1, 2025, Hong Kong will welcome its 28th anniversary of its return. This city has always been at the forefront of global institutional intersections and capital flows. Today, Hong Kong is embarking on a new chapter: redefining the connotation of "financial center" with Web3 as the underlying technological paradigm, digital assets as the financial core, and a global perspective with policy advantages.

Hong Kong's Web3 journey is not just an industrial upgrade, but 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 the establishment of the financial free port, to the release of the virtual asset policy declaration in 2022, and then to the "Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0" (Policy Declaration 2.0) published in 2025—this city has consistently responded to the uncertainties of the industry with policy certainty.

The Policy Declaration 2.0 is undergoing a systematic upgrade around the "LEAP" strategic framework: Legal (compliance with laws), Expanding (asset tokenization expansion), Advancing (application scenario expansion), and People (talent development), reflecting Hong Kong's comprehensive layout and long-term planning in the digital asset sector.

The main content includes:

• Clarify stablecoin regulation, and the stablecoin licensing system will be officially implemented on August 1, 2025.
• Focus on tokenizing RWA as a key industry, promote the normalization of bond issuance, and plan to include gold, green energy, and electric vehicle assets within the scope of tokenization.
• Tokenized ETFs and digital asset funds enjoy exemptions from stamp duty and capital gains tax, enhancing tax competitiveness.
• The number of digital asset trading platform licenses has increased to 11, with derivative and leveraged financing channels gradually being opened.
• Promote talent development, Cyberport Innovation Fund collaborates with universities to establish a Web3 talent ecosystem.

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

Technical Habitat, Capital Gateway, New Boundaries of Trust

The development of Web3 is not only a technological upgrade but also a fundamental reshaping of the paradigms of efficiency and trust. Hong Kong has chosen a path that balances pragmatism and vision: neither blindly chasing trends nor being complacent.

The "technology habitat" not only refers to the practical implementation of underlying technologies like 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." Mechanisms such as on-chain asset issuance, on-chain clearing, and on-chain identity verification have blossomed in multiple locations in Hong Kong, becoming public products in reality.

"Capital passageway" means that Hong Kong not only continues to play its role as a hub for offshore RMB and global capital markets but also can bridge the traditionally "disconnected" systems between traditional finance and Web3. A head of a family office commented: "In Hong Kong, digital assets can finally be allocated in combination like funds and bonds."

"Trusting New Boundaries" is being built by law, technology, and systems. The immutability of on-chain transaction records, the verifiability of audit mechanisms, and the collaborative advancement of KYC and AML frameworks have reconstructed a trust system recognized by institutions for Web3. Hong Kong has transformed "compliance" from a constraint into an accelerator.

In this innovative practice, Hong Kong has emerged as a hub for leading enterprises that actively participate in and drive industrial transformation. For example, a certain company collaborated with traditional financial institutions to launch Hong Kong's first on-chain securities product, which saw 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 a new game between the dollar system and technological capital, China needs a new financial space that connects global resources, promotes the evolution of digital asset systems, and undertakes pilot missions. Hong Kong is steadily positioned at the intersection of this global reshaping.

The introduction of Web3 policies is supported by profound economic and technical logic:

• The efficiency of on-chain asset circulation has significantly improved, with settlement times shortened from the traditional T+2 to seconds, and transaction costs reduced by over 80%.
• The global fiat currency system continues to face pressure, with the average number of interest rate hikes by major central banks worldwide in 2024 reaching its highest level in recent years, driving the institutional demand for stablecoins as "technological currencies". The integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain is profoundly changing the underlying structure of finance, creating a completely 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.

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

Hong Kong's role is no longer just a "regulatory sandbox"; it has become a hub for global Web3 strategic resources, a bidirectional channel in Asia linking traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi), and a regulatory framework for the compliant implementation of RWA and stablecoins.

In an era where on-chain efficiency continues to improve and the institutionalization of digital assets is on the rise, Hong Kong should undoubtedly play a leading role in the new global financial order.

Conclusion: The era has chosen Hong Kong, and Hong Kong has chosen Web3

2025 is a key turning point for Hong Kong to restart with digital sovereignty and institutional innovation. Web3 is not only a technological revolution 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.