Financial regulators from Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates have signed a pact to bolster cross-border supervision of digital assets.
They plan to create a framework to enhance cooperation, including consultation and information exchange, for supervising cross-border regulated digital asset entities.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced the deal with the UAE’s Capital Market Authority in a statement on January 27.
Cross-border collaboration is a key component of the SFC’s ASPIRe Roadmap, a blueprint aimed at positioning Hong Kong as a global virtual asset hub, according to Eric Yip, executive director of intermediaries at the SFC.
The partnership with the UAE regulator “will enable both jurisdictions to address emerging risks together and collectively foster the sustainable growth of our digital asset ecosystem”, he says.
Figures from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority show that digital asset-related transactions conducted in the city’s banks surged 233% to HK$26.1 billion (US$3.34 billion) in the first half of last year from the same period in 2024.
