Circulars, consultations, rules, licences and speeches on digital assets from regulators in India, Singapore and Hong Kong, summarised in English with the source and an archived copy. The line in italics is my read.
The SFC published consultation conclusions confirming amendments to the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance that bar any person from using titles such as "crypto exchange" or "tokenised assets trading platform" without SFC approval. The restricted list combines product terms, including crypto, digital asset, token and tokenised assets, with venue terms such as exchange, market and trading platform. The list will move into schedules the SFC can amend by subsidiary legislation. The amendments will go to the Legislative Council and take effect six months after enactment.
Why it matters: Most countries restrict who can call itself a bank, and Hong Kong now applies the same rule to crypto trading venues, which shows the industry building safeguards for investors who are not crypto natives. R.M.
Final · Effective · Applies to VASPs, Banks, Fund managers
The Legislative Council passed the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amended Common Reporting Standard) Bill 2026 on 4 November 2026. The government says CARF will be implemented in Hong Kong next year, when relevant service providers start collecting the specified information, and that the Inland Revenue Department will exchange it with partner jurisdictions from 2028. The amended Common Reporting Standard takes effect in 2028, with exchanges under it from 2029.
Why it matters: For SFC-licensed platforms the law adds little beyond a tax-residence check and an annual return; its reach is the unlicensed firms with a Hong Kong nexus, which now have to register with the tax authority whether or not they have anything to report. R.M.
On 2 November 2026, at Hong Kong FinTech Week, the HKMA said it has advanced EnsembleTX to enable 24/7 real-value transactions for banks and their clients. Recognised Dealers have completed trial secondary-market trades of tokenised Exchange Fund Bills, and the HKMA says it will soon expand the trials to include regulated stablecoins. The release gives no start date, participant count or volumes.
Why it matters: 24/7 settlement in central bank money frees tokenised deposits from RTGS hours; the stablecoin trial, which brings licensed non-bank tokens onto the same HKMA infrastructure, is the larger change. R.M.
For Ethereum: Under the HKMA's interoperability standard, banks settle with each other in central bank money and stablecoins enter EnsembleTX only as an asset, so public chains get no role in Hong Kong's interbank settlement.
In a keynote at Hong Kong FinTech Week on 2 November 2026, Elisa Ng, the SFC's Executive Director of Investment Products, said the SFC is introducing an "innovation pathway" that draws on its existing powers. Where tokenised products deliver meaningful benefits and give Hong Kong a first-mover advantage, the SFC will consider regulatory flexibility and guidance to support controlled pilots and product launches. Ms Ng said tokenised gold ETFs may form the next pilot of secondary trading on SFC-licensed platforms. The speech gives no criteria, application process or dates.
Why it matters: The SFC is being proactive in balancing innovation with safeguards: tokenisation's business cases will take more than technology, and by inviting firms to experiment with it early, the regulator gets the right checks and balances in place as real traffic scales on the building blocks Hong Kong has built. R.M.
For Ethereum: A tokenised gold ETF pilot could bring Hang Seng's gold ETF class, issued on Ethereum, to round-the-clock retail trading, while the SFC's interest in e-CNY points its treasury use towards permissioned rails.
The SFC approved secondary trading of two tokenised SFC-authorised money market funds, the ChinaAMC HKD Digital Money Market Fund and the ChinaAMC USD Digital Money Market Fund, on an SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platform. Trading runs around the clock and began on 26 October 2026. It is the first approval under the SFC's April 2026 circular on secondary trading of tokenised funds. The first batch covers only tokenised money market funds, and the SFC says it may broaden the product scope over time.
Why it matters: Round-the-clock trading gives tokenised money market fund units a use beyond parking cash, as collateral or a settlement asset. R.M.
For Ethereum: ChinaAMC's fund tokens sit on Ethereum behind a wallet whitelist and retail investors can now trade them on a licensed platform, but each trade is recorded on the platform's ledger with no change to the token.
Proposal · Applies to Banks, Stablecoin issuers, Payment providers
On 23 October 2026 MAS announced that Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand have joined BLOOM, its initiative on settlement in tokenised bank deposits and regulated stablecoins, as policymaker members. The three central banks will work with industry members on acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions, interoperability across digital money arrangements, and programmable controls such as identity verification and sanctions screening. Nine participants joined, among them Mastercard, Visa, Maybank, Ripple and the World Bank Group. The release sets no timeline.
Why it matters: BLOOM is becoming the regional route for stablecoin and tokenised deposit settlement between Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, even though no recognition arrangement exists yet. R.M.
For Ethereum: BLOOM's cross-border settlement standards would reach ERC-20 stablecoins on Ethereum, since Circle and StraitsX are members and its scope covers regulated stablecoins.
Proposal · Comments close · Applies to Payment providers, VASPs, Stablecoin issuers
MAS consultation paper P017-2026 proposes that all major and standard payment institutions licensed under the Payment Services Act 2019 subscribe to the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC), so their customers can take eligible disputes to mediation and adjudication. MAS-regulated stablecoin issuers would follow once the stablecoin framework is in force. Money-changing licensees are excluded. Comments close on 30 November 2026.
Why it matters: A retail holder of a MAS-regulated stablecoin would get an independent dispute forum that holders of Hong Kong's licensed stablecoins do not have. R.M.
In a keynote on 9 October 2026, MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun said MAS is taking a next step to settle tokenised MAS Bills with Singapore dollar wholesale CBDC, is reviewing aspects of tokenisation that may need further legal clarification, and will help coordinate industry adoption where the case for it is clear. He said MAS is working through BLOOM on settlement in tokenised bank deposits and regulated stablecoins, and that stablecoins may have limits for settling large wholesale transactions.
Why it matters: MAS is putting its own bills and wholesale CBDC at the centre of tokenised settlement in Singapore, and its doubts about stablecoins for large trades limit their wholesale role. R.M.
For Ethereum: MAS's "network of networks" view and the GL1 interoperability toolkits leave room for tokens on public chains such as Ethereum to settle against SGD wholesale CBDC, though no MAS document yet describes the link.
Proposal · Applies to Banks, Listed issuers, Fund managers
At the Treasury Markets Summit, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said CMU OmniClear is building a digital asset platform for 24-hour, onchain atomic settlement that will support settlement against central bank digital currencies and explore integration with tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins. He said the HKMA will test tokenised Exchange Fund Bills and support regular government digital bond issuance, and that half the world's digital bonds by volume in the first half of 2026 were issued in Hong Kong.
Why it matters: The HKMA's own securities depository, not a private platform, is being set up as the settlement layer for Hong Kong's digital bonds, with stablecoins on the list of settlement assets it may accept. R.M.
Proposal · Applies to Banks, VASPs, Stablecoin issuers, Fund managers
The 2026 Policy Address commits the government to promote trading of regulated stablecoins on licensed virtual asset trading platforms and their use in settling tokenised money market funds. The HKMA will test tokenised Exchange Fund Bills and plans CBDC settlement and 24/7 operation under EnsembleTX by around the end of 2026, and CMU OmniClear will set up a digital asset platform for digital bonds this year. The SFC will extend its tokenised product framework to gold and other real-world assets and start digital-asset custody surveillance in the second half of 2026.
Why it matters: Hong Kong now has two tracks for tokenised money, licensed stablecoins on public chains and HKMA-run rails for deposits and CBDC, and the address backs both. R.M.
For Ethereum: Hong Kong's first live licensed stablecoin, HKDAP, is an ERC-20 on Ethereum mainnet, so stablecoin settlement of tokenised funds would, on current issuance, run on Ethereum.
In force · Applies to Listed issuers, Brokers, Banks
SEBI and the RBI launched Demat 2.0, a pilot in which corporate bonds are issued as tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the depositories, with settlement in wholesale CBDC through the RBI's Unified Markets Interface. REC, L&T and IIFL issued tokenised bonds worth Rs 1,025 crore in total between 7 and 9 September 2026. Later phases will add secondary trading on request-for-quote platforms and retail access.
Why it matters: India put tokenised bonds inside its existing depositories instead of beside them, which is the fastest route to scale and the least open one. R.M.
FIU-IND issued notices under section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to 15 crypto service providers operating in India without registering as reporting entities. It also issued takedown notices under the Information Technology Act for their apps and websites. The list includes exchanges such as Weex, Blofin, XT.com and WhiteBIT, and swap services such as ChangeNow, SimpleSwap and FixedFloat.
Why it matters: FIU-IND now names swap services alongside exchanges, which widens the practical reach of India's registration requirement. R.M.
For Ethereum: Instant swap services that exchange one token for another count as crypto service providers in India and must register, even without an Indian presence.
Proposal · Comments close · Applies to Stablecoin issuers, VASPs
MAS published draft amendments to the Payment Services Act to create a stablecoin issuance licence for single-currency stablecoins pegged to the Singapore dollar or a G10 currency. The draft also proposes a ban on paying interest, joint issuance with foreign issuers, recognition of some foreign-regulated stablecoins, and powers to designate and restrict systemic stablecoins. Comments close on 16 October 2026.
Why it matters: Singapore is turning a 2023 policy into law and adding powers over stablecoins it does not license, which is where the real market is. R.M.
For Ethereum: Licensed issuers would need the technical ability to trace, freeze and burn their stablecoins onchain; MAS is also weighing, but not yet proposing, limits on unhosted wallets.
Final · Effective · Applies to VASPs, Banks, Fund managers
The Minister for Finance made the Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework) Regulations 2026 (S 551/2026), and IRAS published its CARF e-Tax Guide, on 11 August 2026. From 1 January 2027, crypto-asset service providers with a Singapore nexus must carry out due diligence on users and file an annual return; those caught in 2027 must register with IRAS by 31 March 2028. Amendments to the Common Reporting Standard regulations (S 552/2026) take effect on the same date, and IRAS intends to start CARF exchanges from September 2028.
Why it matters: Singapore's crypto platforms now have a fixed date to collect tax residence from every user, and the nexus test reaches firms that are managed or have a branch in Singapore even if MAS does not license them. R.M.
The FSTB and the HKMA concluded the first phase of a review of distributed ledger technology in Hong Kong's fixed income market and found the legal and regulatory environment already flexible enough for tokenised bond issuance. The Companies Registry issued FAQs the same day confirming that a register of debenture holders can be kept on a distributed ledger. A second phase in the second half of 2026 will look at legislative changes, including electronic execution of issuance documents and concepts of possession and transfer for tokenised instruments.
Why it matters: Hong Kong is moving from case-by-case issuance to changing the law itself, starting with the property law questions that decide what a token holder actually owns. R.M.
The RBI's annual report for 2025-26 records that certificates of deposit were the first instrument issued in tokenised form on its Unified Markets Interface, settled in wholesale CBDC. It also reports programmable CBDC pilots in government subsidy payments, offline CBDC testing and expanded wholesale pilots. For 2026-27 the RBI plans more tokenisation pilots and bilateral cross-border CBDC pilots.
Why it matters: The RBI is building its own tokenisation rails and settlement asset, which makes wholesale CBDC, not stablecoins, India's answer to onchain money. R.M.
The HKMA updated its expected standards for banks and their subsidiaries that hold digital assets for clients, covering crypto, tokenised securities and other tokenised assets. The guidance sets out governance, segregation, key management, cold wallet controls, monitoring and staking requirements. It asks banks to apply extra caution to permissionless tokens on public permissionless networks.
Why it matters: The HKMA's custody guidance now names public permissionless chains as a distinct, higher risk, which will shape how banks price and structure custody on them. R.M.
For Ethereum: Banks must treat permissionless tokens on public permissionless networks as higher risk, and the guidance says permissioned tokens may allow recovery of lost assets.
Final · Applies to VASPs, Brokers, Banks, Stablecoin issuers, Retail
The SFC and HKMA issued parallel circulars for platforms, brokers and banks dealing in stablecoins issued by HKMA-licensed issuers. These stablecoins are exempt from the token liquidity and index tests, the crypto knowledge test for stablecoin-only clients, and client exposure limits. Intermediaries may also partner with the licensed issuer directly and custody clients' stablecoins with it.
Why it matters: Hong Kong now treats a licensed stablecoin as a payment instrument for distribution purposes, which is what issuers need for retail reach. R.M.
The SFC reissued its circular on authorised funds with more than 10% of net asset value in crypto assets, replacing the April 2025 version. The revision takes stablecoins from HKMA-licensed issuers and tokenised deposits out of scope. The circular keeps the existing rules on eligible tokens, custody, valuation and staking.
Why it matters: A fund holding licensed stablecoins or tokenised deposits is no longer a crypto fund in Hong Kong, which clears the path for tokenised cash products. R.M.
For Ethereum: Authorised crypto funds may stake, through licensed platforms or banks, with prior SFC approval.
The FSTB and SFC published consultation conclusions confirming separate licensing regimes for virtual asset advisory and virtual asset management service providers, modelled on securities advising and asset management licences. There will be no de minimis threshold for crypto asset management. A bill covering these regimes and the earlier dealing and custody regimes is targeted for the Legislative Council in 2026.
Why it matters: Any Hong Kong manager touching crypto, even a sliver of a portfolio, will need a crypto licence, which ends the 10% threshold that let most managers stay out. R.M.
For Ethereum: The conclusions confirm that SFC-authorised crypto funds may keep staking and that private funds will not be restricted from staking.
The Insurance (Valuation and Capital) (Amendment) Rules 2026 were gazetted on 22 May 2026 and tabled in the Legislative Council on 27 May for negative vetting. Among other changes, they update the capital treatment of crypto assets and specified stablecoins under the risk-based capital regime for insurers. The amendments take effect on 31 December 2026.
Why it matters: Hong Kong insurers get a defined way to hold crypto: full capital against volatile tokens, and close to the treatment of the underlying currency for stablecoins from licensed issuers. R.M.
For Ethereum: Ether held by an insurer would need capital equal to its full value, while a licensed stablecoin such as HKDAP, issued on Ethereum mainnet, would be charged as the Hong Kong dollar it references plus counterparty risk on the issuer.
Proposal · Effective · Applies to VASPs, Banks, Fund managers
The government gazetted the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amended Common Reporting Standard) Bill 2026 on 22 May and introduced it into the Legislative Council on 3 June. Crypto-asset service providers with a reporting nexus to Hong Kong would register with the Inland Revenue Department and carry out due diligence, return filing and record keeping. CARF would apply from 2027, with exchanges with partner jurisdictions from 2028; the amended Common Reporting Standard would follow in 2028.
Why it matters: Every crypto platform with a Hong Kong nexus, licensed or not, would have to register with the tax authority, which gives the IRD its own list of crypto businesses alongside the SFC's. R.M.
Final · Applies to Fund managers, VASPs, Brokers, Retail
The SFC set requirements for trading tokenised SFC-authorised investment products on licensed virtual asset trading platforms, including by retail investors. It revised its 2023 tokenisation circular at the same time. The rules are written mainly for open-ended funds and cover fair pricing, market making, disclosure and the link between primary dealing and on-platform trading.
Why it matters: Tokenised funds in Hong Kong now have a trading venue, which is the missing piece that kept them a subscription-and-redemption product. R.M.
For Ethereum: Tokenised funds may still only use a public permissionless chain with extra controls, such as a permissioned token.
Proposal · Comments close · Effective · Applies to Banks
MAS proposes that banks may treat cryptoassets on permissionless blockchains as Group 1, the lower-capital category, if they meet principle-based requirements on governance, technology, settlement finality and AML. Deeming provisions give a safe harbour, including issuer powers to freeze or correct transactions and whitelisting of holders. The treatment is available from publication, subject to exposure and issuance caps, while MAS consults.
Why it matters: MAS is breaking from the Basel default that a permissionless chain means Group 2 capital, and banks can use the new treatment now. R.M.
For Ethereum: Tokenised deposits, bonds or stablecoins issued by a bank on Ethereum or an Ethereum L2 can qualify for Group 1 if the issuer keeps freeze, correction and whitelisting controls.
In force · Effective · Applies to Stablecoin issuers, Banks
The HKMA granted stablecoin issuer licences under the Stablecoins Ordinance to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, effective the same day. Both plan to launch within a few months. They are the first licences since the Ordinance took effect on 1 August 2025.
Why it matters: Hong Kong's first licensed stablecoins will come from banks, which sets the tone for who the regime is built for. R.M.
The Income-tax Rules, 2026, notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes as Notification No. 22/2026 (G.S.R. 198(E)) on 20 March 2026, set out in rules 241 to 244 who must report crypto-asset transactions under section 509 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, what they report and how they identify users. Reporting crypto-asset service providers with an Indian nexus report, for each calendar year from 2026, users who are tax resident outside India, in Form No. 167 by 31 May of the following year. Records must be kept for at least seven tax years.
Why it matters: India has written the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework into its tax rules almost word for word, so its exchanges now collect the same data as platforms in Singapore and Hong Kong, a year earlier. R.M.
For Ethereum: Exchanges must report the total value of each foreign-resident user's withdrawals to wallet addresses not known to belong to a service provider or financial institution, which brings self-custody transfers into tax reporting.
In force · Effective · Applies to Banks, Fund managers
The Central Board of Direct Taxes amended rules 114F, 114G and 114H of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 by Notification No. 19/2026 (G.S.R. 158(E)) dated 5 March 2026, in force from 1 January 2026. For accounts other than US reportable accounts, financial assets now include interests in relevant crypto-assets, and depository accounts now include accounts holding central bank digital currency or specified electronic money products. The amendments also add reporting fields and let financial institutions skip reporting gross proceeds from crypto-asset sales already reported under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework.
Why it matters: India has written the OECD's crypto definitions into its tax reporting rules ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore, so banks and funds holding crypto or e-rupee for foreign tax residents report them first. R.M.
The SFC issued two circulars and a framework on the same day. Brokers that already offer securities margin financing may now lend to those clients for crypto trading and route orders to shared order books. Licensed trading platforms may let an affiliated company make markets on their platforms, and may propose perpetual contracts for professional investors.
Why it matters: Hong Kong is adding leverage and liquidity in steps, each tied to the securities rulebook, and the first step is narrow. R.M.
For Ethereum: Ether is one of only two tokens a broker may accept as collateral for crypto financing, at a haircut of at least 60%.
The Finance Bill, 2026 proposes penalties for reporting entities that fail to file, or file inaccurate, statements on crypto-asset transactions under section 509 of the Income-tax Act, 2025: Rs 200 a day for non-filing and Rs 50,000 for inaccurate information not corrected. It also decriminalises failure to pay TDS on crypto transfers made wholly in kind. The 30% tax and 1% TDS on crypto are unchanged.
Why it matters: India's crypto policy keeps moving through tax administration, not market regulation, and this Budget made the reporting side enforceable. R.M.
FIU-IND issued updated AML, counter-terrorist financing and counter-proliferation financing guidelines for virtual digital asset service providers, replacing its March 2023 guidelines. The guidelines cover registration, governance, customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, the travel rule, sanctions screening and reporting. They add operational detail such as liveness checks and geolocation at onboarding.
Why it matters: India still has no crypto law, so FIU-IND's AML rulebook remains the only binding framework for exchanges operating in the country. R.M.