Hong Kong’s legislature passed a bill on 4 November that will require crypto-asset service providers covered by the new rules to start collecting customer information for tax authorities.
The Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill cleared its third reading and puts the OECD’s crypto reporting standard into local law.
From 2027, covered platforms will have to gather basic details on their customers: name, address, tax residency, and tax ID number. They’ll also need to keep records of trades, token swaps, and transfers to other wallets.
That includes spot trading, exchanges of one token for another, and transfers to other platforms or self-custody wallets. Firms will have to compile annual transaction totals for each customer as well. The Inland Revenue Department plans to begin automatically sending that information to foreign tax authorities from 2028.
The rules don’t create a new tax on crypto. They simply set up the system for sharing data with other countries. Hong Kong has already been exchanging financial account information under the Common Reporting Standard since 2018. This bill closes the gap for crypto assets. Information will be shared with participating jurisdictions under conditions of reciprocity and confidentiality. Customer data will not be made public.
The same legislation also updates the existing Common Reporting Standard rules. The changes take effect in 2028. The first exchanges under the revised rules will follow in 2029. The updated CRS also covers more digital financial products, including certain electronic money products, central bank digital currencies and some investment structures involving crypto assets.
Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said the changes would bring Hong Kong’s reporting rules in line with international standards. The Inland Revenue Department plans to put out guidance and give firms technical support while they get ready.
That guidance will matter, because it should spell out which businesses actually fall under the rules, including how they apply to exchanges, custody providers, brokers and over-the-counter desks.
Other places are moving on similar timelines. The EU adopted the same OECD framework through its DAC8 rules, which took effect in January 2026, with the first reporting and exchanges expected in 2027. Australia published draft legislation in October and also aims for cross-border exchanges from 2028.
South Korea’s government announced on 5 November that it plans to delay taxing crypto gains until 2029, although the change still requires legislative approval. In France, lawmakers approved an amendment on 3 November that would require the declaration of certain large self-custody holdings. However, it was part of the draft 2027 budget and has not become law.
Hong Kong’s crypto market has grown under its licensing regime. Licensed platforms can serve retail customers. The new reporting rules sit on top of that structure. From 2027, covered crypto-asset service providers operating in the city will also have to collect customer information for tax reporting.
For platforms, the main work between now and 2027 will be updating systems to collect tax residency data, log different types of transactions, and figure out which jurisdiction should receive a customer’s records when residency isn’t clear. International operators already have similar reporting machinery in place.
For smaller Hong Kong venues, the bill adds a real fixed cost. Customers won’t see the change until 2028, when information collected by covered platforms starts going automatically to foreign tax authorities.
