In the midst of the global wave of asset tokenization, Hong Kong is becoming a key testing ground for on-chain asset deployment. Recently, the on-chain layout is experiencing an accelerated evolution: on one hand, the Hong Kong government has introduced multiple measures to promote tokenization experiments, and on the other hand, companies like JD Technology, Futu Securities, Ant Digital, and Guotai Junan are actively advancing RWA deployment.
According to PANews, many domestic enterprises holding physical assets are also taking action, seeking to tokenize their assets for financing. The most common compliant solution is to first confirm ownership of domestic assets on a consortium blockchain, then establish a holding entity in Hong Kong to control these domestic assets, and subsequently issue tokens for financing. These enterprises range from agriculture to new energy and real estate, and the essence of exploring RWA (Real World Assets tokenization) is still financing, but Hong Kong's RWA industry is currently still feeling its way forward.
Hong Kong's RWA Acceleration: Multiple Institutions Speeding Up On-Chain Deployment
Real-world asset on-chain transformation is becoming a key pivot for deep integration between TradeFi and crypto finance, with a "two-way" financial revolution rapidly unfolding in Hong Kong. In recent months, companies like JD Technology, Ant Digital, Guotai Junan International, China Carbon Neutrality, and HashKey Chain are deeply participating in RWA innovation and implementation through different paths such as stablecoin issuance, traditional asset tokenization, and RWA infrastructure construction.
[The rest of the translation continues in the same manner, maintaining the original structure and translating all text while preserving technical terms and proper nouns as specified]HashKey Chain: Collaborates with Over 200 Institutions for RWA On-Chain Integration
In March this year, HashKey Chain announced that the tokenized USD money market fund CPIC Estable MMF, initiated and managed by CPIC Investment Management (Hong Kong), was successfully deployed on HashKey Chain, with a subscription scale of $100 million on its first day of operation. Through deployment on HashKey Chain, CPIC Estable MMF can provide digital asset allocation tools for institutional investors. In the same month, the tokenized Hong Kong dollar and USD money market ETF jointly launched by HashKey Group and Bosera Fund (International) was approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), marking the world's first tokenized money market ETF and a key innovative exploration project for RWA in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Ensemble sandbox project.
According to Kay, CEO of HashKey Eco Labs, the HashKey Chain team has engaged in in-depth discussions with over 200 institutions, covering traditional financial institutions, asset management companies, technology enterprises, and Web3 native projects, reaching cooperation intentions for RWA on-chain integration. They are exploring the tokenization of traditional financial products such as money market funds (MMF), ETFs, and bonds, aiming to achieve 24/7 global market reach, real-time trading, and improved capital efficiency through blockchain.
Wall Street Accelerates On-Chain Integration, How Will Hong Kong Seize the RWA High Ground?
Currently, the main driving force behind global tokenization innovation still comes from the United States. Represented by Wall Street traditional financial institutions like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, they are accelerating the inflow of traditional funds on-chain through Bitcoin spot ETF channels and traditional asset tokenization.
Meanwhile, the US has taken the lead in providing policy support. The new SEC Chairman Paul Atkins also clearly stated in the latest crypto roundtable that the migration of securities from off-chain to on-chain systems is similar to the evolution of audio recordings from vinyl records to cassette tapes to digital software. This change is expected to completely transform the securities market through new issuance, trading, holding, and usage methods. The SEC must keep pace with innovation, assess whether existing regulatory frameworks need adjustment to accommodate on-chain securities and other crypto assets. At the same time, regulators should establish a reasonable crypto asset market regulatory framework, develop clear rules to regulate issuance, custody, and trading, and continuously combat illegal activities.
In comparison, Hong Kong enterprises have been relatively cautious in RWA tokenization. However, it is well known that Hong Kong itself possesses rich financial resources, with its financial infrastructure, mature capital markets, and efficient regulatory system making it a global financial center. As an innovative financial tool, once RWA is more widely promoted in Hong Kong, it will demonstrate enormous growth potential in traditional finance, further deepening and globalizing the Hong Kong financial market.
Hong Kong institutions' conservative attitude towards RWA tokenization primarily stems from strict compliance requirements. The Hong Kong financial regulatory system emphasizes stability and compliance, ensuring financial innovation does not compromise market stability and transparency. Therefore, how to achieve innovation within Hong Kong's legal framework and regulatory policies is a crucial challenge for local institutions. As mentioned at the beginning of the article, some compliant pathways have already been explored in practice. Beyond compliance, the industry is concerned about regulatory attitudes because policy signals directly influence fund flows, and the current state of on-market funds is what everyone is more focused on.
However, Hong Kong is actually taking an actively supportive stance on tokenization policies. For instance, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) Ensemble project aims to explore the feasibility of tokenized assets in practical application scenarios through sandbox testing, which is significant for promoting market understanding and application. Additionally, Hong Kong is exploring Hong Kong dollar stablecoins and focusing on establishing a stablecoin regulatory framework, including the Stablecoin Bill planned to resume second reading debate at the Legislative Council meeting on May 21. If the bill passes, the monetary authority will accelerate the approval of stablecoin-related licenses, providing a clearer regulatory environment for the market. Moreover, Hong Kong government officials are optimistic about tokenization prospects. For example, Financial Secretary Christopher Hui's remarks further indicate that Hong Kong not only hopes to promote the tokenization of assets like gold but is also committed to integrating the real economy through digital finance.
Hong Kong also supports blockchain technology. According to ThreeDAO's public account, Dr. Xiao Feng, founder of Wanxiang Blockchain, suggested in a private conversation with Ethereum founder Vitalik that the Ethereum Foundation establish an office in Hong Kong. Xiao Feng pointed out that blockchain developers are mainly concentrated in English and Chinese-speaking worlds, and losing the Chinese market means losing important global developer resources. China's technical departments, government agencies, and developer communities respect Ethereum technology and suggest the foundation should not distance itself from the Chinese market.
Now, with the participation of multiple leading enterprises mentioned earlier, this may bring confidence to more Hong Kong enterprises that are currently in a wait-and-see state, providing them with reference and motivation.
Overall, as more global institutions accelerate the tokenization of financial assets, the development space for the RWA track is being further opened. For Hong Kong, this also presents an important policy opportunity and development window. Therefore, facing increasingly clear policy guidance and increasingly mature technical pathways, Hong Kong should, on the premise of ensuring financial stability and compliance, moderately release innovation experimental space, encourage more traditional institutions to move from observation to practice, guide more traditional financial funds to enter the market, and accelerate the localization of the RWA ecosystem and its global alignment.
