Hong Kong's DL Securities Receives Conditional Approval for Virtual Asset Trading License

DL Securities (Hong Kong) Limited has received conditional approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to provide virtual asset trading services, marking the subsidiary's entry into Hong Kong's regulated crypto trading sector.

The Hong Kong-based brokerage, owned by DL Holdings (1709.HK), accepted the SFC's conditions for upgrading its Type 1 securities dealing license to include virtual asset trading as of December 29, 2025, according to a company statement on Monday. The firm will commence crypto trading upon receiving formal SFC approval.

DL Securities said it plans to open omnibus accounts with OSL, an SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platform, to provide professional investors with execution services including virtual asset trading and fiat-to-crypto conversions. Services will initially target professional investor clients within the firm's existing securities dealing business.

Digital Assets Already Deployed

DL Holdings has positioned itself ahead of the license approval by establishing holdings in both tokenized real-world assets and digital currencies. The company has tokenized HK$60 million ($7.7 million) of its HK$500 million DL Tower property in Hong Kong's Central district and completed tokenization plans for its HK$312 million equity stake in U.S. luxury real estate project ONE Carmel.

The group operates nearly 10,000 mining rigs generating approximately two bitcoins daily and has outlined an additional HK$800 million digital asset investment pathway, split between HK$560 million for computing power and HK$240 million for tokenized gold assets.

Following the license upgrade, DL Securities will offer professional and institutional investors compliant trading services covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, and proprietary real estate and equity-type RWA products.

"The license is a key—it opens the door for us to provide compliant services to investors worldwide," said Andy Chen, chairman and CEO of DL Holdings Group.

The approval positions DL Securities among a limited group of Hong Kong financial institutions holding full licenses for both traditional securities and virtual assets. The firm's Type 4 license upgrade for advising on securities is currently under final SFC review.