Central Bank of Hong Kong Releases Guidance on Digital Asset Custody for Institutions

Hong Kong’s central bank is releasing new guidelines for institutions interested in offering crypto custodianship services.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published new guidelines this morning for financial institutions seeking to sell or distribute tokenized products.

According to the note, the HKMA encourages financial institutions to do their due diligence while researching potential digital asset products to protect both themselves as institutions, as well as individual consumers and investors.

The release also says authorized institutions (AIs) are permitted to introduce and sell tokenized products themselves.

The release also lays the responsibility of protecting the consumer at the feet of the AIs.

“AIs are expected to act in the best interests of their customers and make adequate disclosure of the relevant material information about a tokenized product, including key terms, features and risks, to enable the customer to make an informed decision.”

Furthermore, it is on the AIs to manage the risks of investing in crypto or tokenized products and to have approved policies, procedures, and people in place.

Finally, regarding custodial services, the release states,

“AIs that are also providing custodial services of tokenized products should meet the expected standards on digital asset custody as issued by the HKMA from time to time.”

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