Hong Kong banks urged to build digital asset capability before chasing revenue

They risk losing ground in a growing trillion-dollar market if they wait too long, said KPMG.

Hong Kong banks should not prioritise generating revenue from digital assets but take the time to build capability first.

Market infrastructure in the city is changing, with the Hong Kong government welcoming a stablecoin regime and granting its first stablecoin licenses. Infrastructure is moving from sandbox to real-value settlement, KPMG said in the Hong Kong Banking Report 2026.

“For many banks, the immediate priority should not be to generate significant new revenue, but to build capability, understand the risks, and avoid being left behind as market infrastructure rewires around them,” said Simon Shum, head of digital assets, Hong Kong SAR at KPMG China; and Antony Ruddenklau, global head of fintech and innovation, KPMG in Singapore.

Total stablecoin supply globally is close to US$280b in May 2026 and is overwhelmingly USD-pegged. Stablecoin transfer volume reached $4.5t in Q1 2026.

Business cases for banks, even those with a stablecoin regime like in Hong Kong, are still emerging. Many banks both in the city and regional banks remain in wait-and-see mode.

“Building digital asset capabilities requires investment in technology, talent, governance, legal structuring, risk management, compliance and cybersecurity. In the short term, these investments can look like cost rather than immediate value,” Shum and Ruddenklau said.

But waiting too long may see banks ceding ground to competitors, fintechs, or new market infrastructure providers.

C-Suite leaders should ask where the real client value is, if their risk and control frameworks are ready for tokenised finance, and how to build capability in digital assets before the market reaches scale, KPMG said.

“The right posture is to build “muscle memory”—developing the teams, governance, technology knowledge, and regulatory familiarity that will be needed to act decisively when adoption accelerates,” Shum and Ruddenklau said.

KPMG also said that Hong Kong's banks should look into capitalising the city's gold potential.