Hong Kong SFC Approves BTC and ETH Margin Financing

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced that licensed brokers are permitted to offer virtual asset margin financing. In this regard, collateralized financing backed by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) can be provided to securities margin customers with sufficient collateral and strong credit profiles.

Hong Kong SFC BTC and ETH Regulations Details

The Commission also established a high-level framework for licensed virtual asset trading platforms to offer leveraged perpetual contracts to professional investors. Platform affiliates can operate as market makers under conflict of interest measures, functional independence, and security controls. These measures introduce structured leverage and additional liquidity to Hong Kong's supervised crypto market while keeping retail access limited.

• Margin Financing: Based on the existing securities framework, BTC/ETH collateralized.
• Perpetual Contracts: Transparent disclosures and strong risk management mandatory.
• Future Plans: Crypto advisory law draft in 2026, OECD CARF compliance; HKMA stablecoin licenses in March.
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