New Trends in Hong Kong Virtual Asset Regulation: Guotai Junan International's Licensing Sparks Market Follow

Recently, Guotai Junan International announced that it has obtained a virtual asset license in Hong Kong, a piece of news that has attracted widespread attention in the market. Currently, there are only 4 listed companies holding relevant virtual asset licenses in Hong Kong, including OSL, Guotai Junan International, Futu Holdings, and Up Fintech. Among them, the Hong Kong-listed companies are mainly OSL and Guotai Junan International, while the US stock market has Futu Holdings and Up Fintech.

According to the announcement, Guotai Junan International has been approved to upgrade its "Type 1 Securities Trading License" to a license that allows for the provision of virtual asset trading services. The scope of services includes providing direct virtual asset trading services, offering advice during the trading process, and issuing and distributing products related to virtual assets, such as over-the-counter derivatives, structured notes, and tokenized securities.

In fact, Guotai Junan International began introducing structured products based on virtual asset spot ETFs in the Hong Kong market as early as 2024 and was approved to conduct virtual asset trading platform introduction agent business. In February 2025, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission released the "A-S-P-I-Re" regulatory roadmap and clarified that the stablecoin management regulations would be implemented in August. Guotai Junan's move coincides perfectly with the pace of policy implementation and is seen as the practical landing of the Hong Kong government's "virtual asset international hub" strategy.

After the news was announced, Guotai Junan International's stock price surged significantly, driving up the Hong Kong Chinese brokerage index. In the A-share market, several brokerage stocks also hit the daily limit, with the Wind brokerage index closing up 5.52%.

It is worth noting that although Guotai Junan International is the first Chinese-funded brokerage approved, it is not the only institution laying out virtual asset licenses. According to industry insiders, several local Hong Kong brokerages, including Victory Securities and Everbright Securities, have successively completed the upgrade application for License No. 1.

Guotai Junan International, as a state-owned brokerage, has obtained a virtual asset license and has been granted the narrative of "national-level strategic pilot" by the market. Compared to other internet platforms that have obtained similar qualifications, the identity and positioning of Guotai Junan International create a scarcity premium in the market. In addition, Guotai Junan International is a target for the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, allowing A-share funds to invest in this stock through the northbound channel, which also intensifies stock price fluctuations and capital chasing.

However, most brokerages currently do not have their own exchanges, but instead mainly access trading services by establishing comprehensive accounts on licensed platforms. Many brokerages adopt similar models and strictly limit the scope of clients, for example, requiring clients to have Hong Kong or overseas identities, and not accepting mainland residents for trading. This means that, despite breakthroughs in regulation, the virtual asset services that have been opened are only available to a small number of overseas investors, making it difficult for most mainland residents to truly engage with this business.

From the layout of Guotai Junan International, its compliance path is to enter the virtual asset market as a traditional brokerage by upgrading its license and relying on local regulatory channels. In this "brokerage + exchange" cooperation model, the brokerage provides customer resources and licensed identity, while the exchange provides technical capabilities and market depth. However, this highly binding cooperation structure also poses potential risks; once a compliant exchange expands its proprietary business in the future or encounters technical failures or compliance disputes, the risk exposure will be difficult to separate and independently control.

Currently, there are only two virtual asset trading platforms (VATP) in the Hong Kong market that have obtained the Type 7 license: HashKey and OSL. This has led to a high concentration of brokers and financial institutions choosing to access the services provided by these two platforms in their actual operations. This regulatory design, while ensuring compliance, has also somewhat suppressed the vitality of market competition.

Overall, Guotai Junan International has been approved for a virtual asset trading service license in Hong Kong, marking an important step in the integration of traditional brokerage business models with blockchain technology. This event indicates that Hong Kong is striving to build a digital asset financial ecosystem that is both compliant and vibrant. The market is also beginning to layout around "compliant virtual assets + financial infrastructure", such as stablecoins, tokenized bonds, and blockchain-enabled brokerages.

However, for ordinary investors in the mainland, participating in the cryptocurrency services offered in Hong Kong still faces many restrictions. Both Guotai Junan International and other licensed institutions clearly prohibit investors with mainland Chinese identities from opening accounts to engage in digital asset trading. In the future, with further improvements in regulation, it is possible that qualified investors from the mainland could participate in virtual asset investments through regulatory-approved methods.