TL;DR:
- The HKMA introduces “Fintech 2030,” a 5-year strategy based on Data, AI, Resilience, and Tokenization.
- The plan prioritizes the tokenization of RWAs and government bonds, settleable with e-HKD and stablecoins.
- In parallel, the SFC will allow exchanges (VATPs) to share order books with overseas affiliates.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) presented its new five-year strategy, named “Fintech 2030.” HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue announced that the plan seeks to strengthen the jurisdiction’s financial innovation and competitiveness through four key pillars, collectively known as DART: Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Resilience, and Tokenization.
This strategy, which includes over 40 initiatives, marks the city’s evolution towards “fintech 3.0,” focused on resilience and future-readiness.
The DART plan is comprehensive. The ‘Data’ pillar will focus on building next-generation data and payment infrastructure to facilitate secure sharing and efficient cross-border payments.
On the ‘AI’ front, the “AI² Strategy” (Artificial Intelligence x Authorized Institutions) will promote the responsible adoption of this technology in the financial sector, seeking to create industry-standard models. Finally, the ‘Resilience’ pillar will address cybersecurity and technological reliability, preparing the financial system against emerging threats like quantum computing.
Tokenization and market expansion lead the vision
The most prominent pillar of the HKMA Fintech 2030 strategy is tokenization. The HKMA plans to actively accelerate the conversion of real-world assets (RWAs) and financial instruments into digital tokens.
This includes plans to regularize the issuance of tokenized government bonds, with settlements to be conducted directly on blockchain networks using new forms of digital money, such as the e-HKD (Hong Kong’s CBDC), tokenized deposits, and regulated stablecoins. To advance on this front, the authority will soon launch “Project Ensemble,” a pilot program to test real-value transactions with tokenized money.
In parallel with this announcement, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) introduced new measures to boost liquidity and competitiveness for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs).
The SFC will allow licensed VATPs to share unified order books with their overseas affiliated platforms.Furthermore, they will be permitted to offer new virtual asset products to professional investors, including assets without a 12-month track record and HKMA-licensed stablecoins, solidifying Hong Kong’s ambitious move to lead the digital economy.
