A Hong Kong industry group has urged the city’s regulators to ease aspects of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) crypto reporting rules ahead of its implementation.
Association Pushes To Soften CARF RequirementsIn their official response, the association shared its concerns about certain elements of the CARF and CRS amendments, warning that they could create operational and liability risks for market participants.
Notably, the HKSFPA affirmed that it mostly supports the proposals, but urged regulators to ease the record-keeping requirements for dissolved entities. “We generally agree with the six-year retention period to align with existing inland revenue and CRS standards,” they explained, “but we have concerns regarding the obligations placed on individuals post-dissolution.”
As a result, they suggested the government “allow for the appointment of a designated third-party custodian (such as a liquidator or a licensed corporate service provider) to fulfill this obligation, rather than placing indefinite personal liability and logistical burden on former individual officers.”
Moreover, the association also cautioned that the proposed uncapped per-account penalties for minor technical errors. They asserted that this could lead to “disproportionately astronomical fines for systemic software errors affecting thousands of accounts where there was no intent to defraud.”
To solve this, they proposed a “reasonable cap” on total penalties for unintentional administrative errors or first-time offenses to ensure that the per-account calculation “is reserved for cases of willful negligence or intentional evasion.”
Additionally, the group suggested a “lite” registration or a simplified annual declaration process for Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers (RCASPs) that anticipate filing Nil Returns, to reduce administrative costs while still satisfying the Inland Revenue Department’s oversight requirements.
Hong Kong’s Crypto Hub EffortsNotably, Hong Kong is among the 76 markets committed to implementing the upcoming crypto reporting framework, which is the OECD’s new global standard for exchanging tax information on crypto assets.
Over the past few years, Hong Kong financial authorities have been actively working to develop a comprehensive framework that supports the expansion of the digital assets industry, part of its strategy to become a leading crypto hub in the world.
Moreover, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is expected to grant the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses in the first few months of the year. The HKMA enacted the Stablecoins Ordinance in August, which directs any individual or entity seeking to issue a stablecoin in Hong Kong, or any Hong Kong Dollar-pegged token, to obtain a license from the regulator.
Multiple companies have applied for the license, with over 30 applications filed in 2025, including logistics technology firm Reitar Logtech and the overseas arm of Chinese mainland financial technology giant Ant Group.
