Hong Kong looks to become global OTC crypto center with new EU style reporting

Hong Kong’s financial regulators have announced plans to harmonize the city’s over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives reporting regime, including crypto derivatives, with international standards. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released a joint consultation conclusion outlining changes that will bring the city’s regulations in line with European and global practices.

The new rules, set to take effect on September 29, 2025, will mandate the use of Unique Transaction Identifiers (UTI), Unique Product Identifiers (UPI), and Critical Data Elements (CDE) for OTC derivatives reporting. These changes aim to facilitate international standardization and harmonization of data elements reported across global OTC derivatives reporting regimes.

Notably, the regulators have addressed the emerging field of digital asset derivatives. As the HKMA and SFC reported,

“Given that the Digital Token Identifier (DTI) has been proposed as an allowable reportable value in the upcoming consultation of version 4 of the CDE Technical Guidance, we will accommodate the use of DTI in our reporting requirements.”

This move aligns Hong Kong with European efforts to standardize digital asset identification in financial reporting.

The regulators have also streamlined the number of mandated data fields to be “in the range of that in the EU, the US, and other APAC jurisdictions,” striking a balance between comprehensive reporting and operational efficiency for market participants.

Furthermore, Hong Kong will adopt the ISO 20022 XML message standard for OTC derivatives reporting, a move that has received broad support from industry stakeholders. This adoption will ensure consistency with global reporting practices and facilitate cross-border data sharing and analysis.

These changes represent a notable step in Hong Kong’s efforts to maintain its status as a leading international financial center while ensuring regulatory alignment with major crypto and digital asset derivatives markets.