🔥Hong Kong's Two Shocking Cryptocurrency Events🔥

First Event
Hong Kong has delisted USDT

Second Event
Hong Kong allows insurance companies to invest in cryptocurrencies

Let's talk about the delisting of USDT‼️:

Recently, many people have been claiming that Hong Kong has delisted USDT, and even that stablecoins are being completely banned in Hong Kong. This statement is not entirely accurate. More precisely, unlicensed USDT exchange channels are being cleaned up, not USDT itself being prohibited.

The background is that on August 1st of this year, Hong Kong's regulations related to stablecoins officially came into effect. The new rules clearly state that any institution involved in stablecoin exchange, custody, or trading must hold a license issued by Hong Kong regulators. The issue is that, in the past, many street exchange shops in Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui operated with traditional currency exchange licenses, which are no longer applicable under the new regulations for stablecoins like USDT.

Therefore, after the new regulations were implemented, many unlicensed street exchange shops either closed down or moved underground. This is not a sudden tightening of policy but a normal cleanup following regulatory enforcement. Continuing to operate openly without proper licensing is illegal and carries high risks.

It is important to emphasize that Hong Kong has not banned USDT trading. The issuer of USDT has already submitted a license application to Hong Kong authorities, which is still under review and has not been approved yet. The suspicious platform list published by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission targets unlicensed platforms, not the stablecoins themselves.

If you want to use or trade USDT legally in Hong Kong, you can only do so through licensed platforms, such as HashKey and OSL, which are regulated exchanges. Trading on unlicensed platforms or through private street exchanges is clearly crossing regulatory red lines.

Another important change that is often overlooked is that Hong Kong and Mainland China are now sharing real-time data on stablecoin transactions. The Greater Bay Area is piloting a system where stablecoin transactions must comply with both Hong Kong and Mainland regulations. For example, large single transactions may trigger joint reviews from both jurisdictions, indicating that stablecoins are being formally integrated into cross-border financial regulation, not excluded.

Now, about Hong Kong allowing insurance companies to invest in cryptocurrencies‼️:

Compared to the first event, this one has a more significant long-term impact.

According to the latest disclosures, Hong Kong's insurance regulators are pushing for regulatory revisions to allow insurance companies to include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and related digital financial infrastructure assets in their investment scope. The new regulations are expected to start public consultation between February and April next year, followed by submission to the Legislative Council for review. If approved smoothly, Hong Kong will become the first jurisdiction in Asia to officially permit insurance funds to compliant allocate to crypto assets.

The core significance of this is that insurance funds are typically long-term and conservative capital. Once insurance companies are allowed to participate, it means that crypto assets are beginning to enter the core of the traditional financial system, no longer just a niche for high-risk investors.

Many people worry about the volatility of crypto assets—what if an insurance company loses money? Hong Kong regulators have already drawn clear red lines. According to the current draft framework, crypto assets will be managed at the highest risk level, requiring 100% risk capital. Simply put, the amount an insurance company invests in crypto must be backed by an equivalent amount of capital as a risk buffer to ensure overall solvency.

This effectively adds a very high safety valve for insurance funds allocating to crypto assets, allowing participation but preventing reckless speculation.

Currently, a few leading insurance companies in Hong Kong have begun pilot allocations, usually managed through specially designed compliant products by top global asset management firms. The focus is on Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and digital financial infrastructure, rather than high-risk small coins.

From a longer-term perspective, this move also opens up imagination for the integration of insurance and stablecoins. In the future, customers might pay premiums and receive benefits using stablecoins, enabling faster settlement via blockchain, while reducing cross-border payment fees and exchange rate fluctuations.

It is worth noting that Hong Kong is not only embracing crypto in the insurance sector but also making breakthroughs in identity and capital layers. In February this year, the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency approved an investment immigration application using Ethereum as proof of assets. Last October, the first case of investment immigration using Bitcoin as proof of assets was successfully processed in Hong Kong. These signals indicate that crypto assets are gradually being incorporated into Hong Kong’s mainstream financial and wealth management systems.

In summary:
The so-called delisting of USDT in Hong Kong is essentially about cleaning up unlicensed channels, not suppressing stablecoins.
Allowing insurance companies to invest in crypto assets is a major institutional opening.

One is regulatory tightening,
The other is opening the financial system to crypto assets.

Looking at these two events together, they more clearly illustrate Hong Kong’s attitude:
It’s not a blanket ban,
But rather leaving room for compliant operations.

The wind is rising.
Whether you can ride the wave depends on whether you understand the changes in the rules.

Share your thoughts in the comments~