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Blockchain
TechTech Trends

Blockchain-based securities are emerging in Hong Kong, further expanding distributed ledgers in local financial markets

  • UBS and Bank of China have a new private security product on Ethereum, while the Hong Kong government has issued a green bond on a private blockchain
  • While outside Hong Kong’s new virtual asset regulation, the securities products are seen as a positive sign for Hong Kong’s crypto ambitions

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UBS and Bank of China have a new private security product on Ethereum. Photo: SCMP/ Yik Yeung-man
Xinmei ShenandMatt Haldane
New blockchain-based security products are emerging in Hong Kong, offering investors a variety of ways to tap into the city’s growing Web3 industry in areas that are distinct from virtual assets like cryptocurrencies.
With the announcement last week of a blockchain-based structured note from UBS and the Bank of China’s Hong Kong-based investment arm, the city now has its first private security product on a public blockchain since launching a new crypto licensing regime. It joins a government-backed green bond announced in February that is being offered on a private blockchain platform from Goldman Sachs.

The products reflect interest in growing Hong Kong’s Web3 industry beyond just cryptocurrencies, which have been the focus of new regulations.

“This helps to cement Hong Kong’s image as a financial centre that fosters a pro-blockchain ecosystem, especially because the issuance is on a public blockchain,” said Allen Huang, associate dean at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Business School.

In its bid to become a crypto hub, Hong Kong put into effect this month new rules on virtual assets that require exchanges to be licensed and limit retail investors to buying tokens with large market capitalisations, like bitcoin and ether. Importantly, though, securities and futures contracts are excluded from the city’s definition of such assets.

Now investors are getting a look at how blockchain-based securities will work in the city.

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