Hong Kong's government is set to expand tax concessions to include crypto investments by the end of this year.

Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, announced this initiative during his speech at Hong Kong Fintech Week. The extension aims to cover privately offered funds and family offices, with the intention of stimulating market development in the region.

In addition to tax breaks, Hong Kong regulators are also working to approve more licenses for crypto trading platforms. Paul Chan, the city's financial secretary, noted that the Securities and Futures Commission is currently evaluating applications from various crypto asset trading platforms.

He expressed optimism that new licenses would be issued within the next few months, building on the licensing regime initiated in June 2023.

To date, the Hong Kong government has granted licenses to three exchanges: OSL Exchange, HashKey Exchange and HKVAX. The move to enhance licensing comes as part of a broader strategy to welcome crypto firms into the city.

Chan also highlighted the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's plans to introduce legislation related to stablecoins, following the launch of a regulatory sandbox for stablecoin projects in March.

Furthermore, the government is reviewing regulations for over-the-counter trading and plans to initiate a second round of public consultation next year.

This consultation will precede the introduction of a licensing framework for crypto custodian service providers.