Under geopolitical conflicts, a policy window has opened. Can Hong Kong seize this wave of RWA opportunities?

The crypto bear market meets geopolitical conflicts, creating unprecedented opportunities for RWA (Real World Assets). Recently, the trading volume of RWA on the Hyperliquid platform reached a new high, with the total open interest exceeding $1.3 billion and a single-day trading volume surpassing $1.4 billion over the weekend.

Looking back over the past year, traditional financial assets such as gold, silver, and U.S. stocks, along with the recent surge in crude oil, are accelerating the tokenization of precious metals and commodities. Traditional exchanges like the NYSE and crypto platforms like Binance, OKX, and Bitget are actively positioning themselves to inject new vitality into the on-chain market by leveraging the bull market of traditional assets.

Fourfold Growth in One Year: The Historical Opportunity of RWA

Data best illustrates the trend. According to RWA.xyz, the total value of on-chain tokenized real assets, excluding stablecoins, has exceeded $25 billion, nearly quadrupling from $6.4 billion a year ago. Currently, six categories of assets have on-chain scales exceeding $1 billion, including U.S. Treasury bonds, commodities, private credit, institutional alternative investment funds, corporate bonds, and non-U.S. government debt.

Notably, the number of RWA holders is rapidly expanding. Token Terminal data shows that the number of RWA holders on the Ethereum network has reached approximately 169,000, with Solana closely following at around 163,000, bringing the total number of global RWA asset holders to over 663,000. This indicates that RWA is moving from a niche market into the mainstream.

This growth is driven by real market demand. Geopolitical conflicts often erupt when traditional markets are closed or during weekends. In late February, as tensions rose in the Middle East and traditional exchanges like CME were closed, crude oil perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid surged by 5% within hours, becoming the only outlet for traders to hedge risks. This ability to provide 24/7 pricing fills the time blind spots of the traditional financial system.

The positioning of large institutions is also accelerating. At the beginning of this year, the NYSE announced the development of a blockchain-based tokenized securities trading platform, aiming for 24/7 trading and instant settlement. This is not merely "stock on-chain," but a systematic reconstruction of the entire securities trading chain, redefining everything from trading and clearing to custody. Earlier, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, explicitly stated at the Davos Forum that tokenization is the future of the financial system, advocating for the entire financial system to migrate to a "shared blockchain."

Meanwhile, centralized exchanges (CEX) have found new opportunities in the crypto bear market due to geopolitical conflicts. Platforms like Binance, OKX, and Bitget have begun to tokenize traditional financial assets since the second half of last year, capturing part of the market demand for tokenized assets.

This creates an interesting dichotomy: the crypto market itself is mired in a bear market, with most altcoin prices at historical lows; yet traditional institutions, especially in the financial sector, are accelerating their bets on RWA. By the 2026 Davos Forum, the winds will have completely shifted, with Web3 no longer seen as a "challenger" to the financial system but being absorbed as a new generation of global financial infrastructure. Governments from over ten countries are actively exploring the tokenization of national-level assets, with RWA moving from "enterprise-level" to "sovereign-level."

Can Hong Kong Seize This Wave of RWA Opportunities Under the Policy Window?

In the wave of RWA opportunities, it is noteworthy that Hong Kong's situation is changing.

In February 2026, eight ministries in China jointly issued Document No. 42, which clearly prohibits all RWA tokenization activities within the country, while simultaneously opening a compliance channel for overseas RWA, allowing domestic entities to conduct RWA business abroad under regulatory conditions.

On the same day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission released regulatory guidelines for the offshore issuance of asset-backed securities tokens, paving a compliance path centered around a filing system for the offshore issuance of domestic assets as RWA. The document also states that overseas branches of domestic financial institutions can engage in tokenization-related businesses, provided they comply with local laws and Chinese regulatory requirements.

Considering that most overseas branches of domestic financial institutions are based in Hong Kong, this regulation further solidifies Hong Kong's position as a bridgehead in the Chinese market. Hong Kong is becoming an "offshore testing ground" for China's crypto industry, serving as a compliant springboard for mainland crypto talent and a conversion interface for global capital entering the Chinese market.

According to a report by CMB International, Hong Kong, as a global digital asset center, is expected to be among the first to benefit from the incremental demand for high-quality assets from the mainland, driving the RWA sector from innovative attempts to a more normalized and scaled stage.

The actions of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission are also accelerating. On February 13, Esperanza Securities was approved to conduct compliant tokenization of entertainment assets, including concerts by Huang Kaiqin and tours by K-pop boy bands, bringing these entertainment assets into the regulated digital securities issuance category. On February 24, RWA projects such as the Central Delin Building under Delin Holdings were approved for issuance. Within seven days, two major RWA projects for physical assets were approved, covering scenarios from entertainment IP to core commercial real estate, achieving a leap forward. This is not an isolated product innovation but a clear strategic signal released by Hong Kong regulators: compliant RWA is moving from being an exclusive financial asset game for institutions to covering the entire real industry.

However, looking back, Hong Kong's layout in the virtual asset field over the past two years has often been described as "loud thunder but little rain" by outsiders. Many policy documents have been issued, and forums and summits have been lively, but the actual scaled businesses that have landed are limited.

Rewinding the timeline, at the end of 2022, Southern Eastern launched Asia's first virtual asset futures ETFs, including the Southern Eastern Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066.HK) and Ethereum Futures ETF (3068.HK), marking the starting point for compliant virtual asset ETFs in Asia.

A year and a half later, the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF was approved, triggering a massive influx of funds worth tens of billions. Hong Kong followed suit, and in April 2024, Huaxia Fund (Hong Kong), Harvest Global Investments, and Bosera International were all approved on the same day, becoming the first institutions in Asia to issue Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, with a total of six products listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the 30th of that month. The launch of these products made Hong Kong the second market after the U.S. to approve spot cryptocurrency ETFs, sparking discussions about "the East catching up with the West."

However, the market performance of these products sharply contrasted with the explosive growth in the U.S. Bloomberg ETF analysts had previously poured cold water on the situation: the Hong Kong ETF market is limited in size, the three issuers are not on the same scale as BlackRock, and with mainland retail investors unable to participate, product liquidity was in question, with "$500 million being considered lucky." Subsequent data confirmed this assessment, showing that by the end of 2025, the total market value of Hong Kong's virtual asset spot ETFs was about $700 million, while in the U.S. market, BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF alone had already surpassed $10 billion in inflows.

An important reason for this is policy constraints. Mainland investors cannot participate, and the local market capacity in Hong Kong is limited, resulting in persistent liquidity issues.

However, this time, the policy window is different. The core logic of Document No. 42 and the "Guidelines" is "clarifying domestically and guiding overseas." Domestic assets can be issued as RWA in Hong Kong through compliant paths. This means that Hong Kong is no longer an isolated local market but a "gateway" backed by high-quality domestic assets. With the asset-side issues resolved, the remaining challenges are the channels and products.

So, which products or institutions will be the fastest? Tokenization of commodities is one direction. Categories like gold, silver, and crude oil have already established trading logic on Hyperliquid, with daily active users and trading volumes proving that market demand is real. As the world's largest offshore RMB center and an important hub for precious metal trading, Hong Kong is naturally suited for the tokenization of such assets.

Another direction is the exploration of tokenization by fund and ETF issuers. In 2023, Harvest Global Investments launched a tokenized fund, and Huaxia Fund's Hong Kong dollar tokenized fund surpassed HKD 1 billion in scale. Recently, Hang Seng Investment issued the "Hang Seng Gold ETF" and will list it on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange while establishing tokenized non-listed fund units. The earliest batch of ETF institutions focusing on virtual assets, such as Southern Eastern Asset Management, has already surpassed $30 billion in assets under management, with a daily trading volume market share of 99.5% in leveraged and inverse products. If they also attempt ETF tokenization, it could serve as a significant catalyst for the Hong Kong RWA market, warranting continued attention.

When policies and channels open up, institutions are also present. The remaining question is: this time, can Hong Kong truly turn the "thunder" into "rain"? From the U.S. to the Middle East, from the NYSE to BlackRock, RWA tokenization is becoming the next stop in global financial infrastructure. And Hong Kong's window of opportunity may be right now.