Hong Kong to Allow Bitcoin, Ether as Margin Collateral in Crypto Push

Eric Yip, the SFC’s executive director of intermediaries, delivers a speech at the Consensus 2026 conference Wednesday

Hong Kong’s securities regulator plans to allow Bitcoin and Ethereum to be used as collateral for margin financing, part of a broader push to deepen the city’s virtual-asset market.

Julia Leung Fung-yee, chief executive of the Securities and Futures Commission, unveiled the policy at the Consensus 2026 conference Wednesday. The change will permit brokerages to accept either traditional securities or virtual assets as collateral when extending credit to clients in good standing for margin trading.