FINANCE

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

Published: Feb. 12, 2026 3:57 a.m. GMT+8

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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.

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Hong Kong’s securities regulator will permit Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for margin financing, aiming to deepen the virtual-asset market.
New rules include regulatory frameworks for perpetual contracts (for professional investors) and allowing licensed trading platforms to offer market-making through affiliated units.
An SFC Accelerator will be launched to enhance regulator-market communication using third-party intermediaries.

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Who’s Who

Sinohope Technology: Sinohope Technology is a company in the virtual-asset sector. Allen Ding, their head of research, commented on Hong Kong's new regulatory measures allowing Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for margin financing. Ding believes these rules will boost local trading volume and attract significant institutional capital, ultimately expanding Hong Kong's crypto market.

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What Happened When

February 11, 2026：: Julia Leung Fung-yee, SFC chief executive, unveiled the policy at Consensus 2026 conference allowing Bitcoin and Ethereum to be used as collateral for margin financing.

February 11, 2026：: Eric Yip confirmed at the conference that the policy allows margin financing in both directions with virtual assets and traditional securities as collateral.

February 11, 2026：: The SFC issued a tender for the SFC Accelerator aimed at improving regulator-market communication using third-party service providers.

2026：: A pilot program for using Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for margin financing will start.

2026：: The new rules to permit Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for margin financing are due to be implemented.

2026：: The SFC plans to introduce a regulatory framework allowing compliant virtual-asset trading platforms to offer perpetual contracts to professional investors.

2026：: The SFC will ease restrictions to allow licensed virtual-asset trading platforms to provide liquidity through affiliated market-making units.