Nov 5, 2026, 3:35 a.m. EST
2 min read
Summary
- Hong Kong passed a law requiring cryptocurrency exchanges and other covered providers to collect customer and transaction information for sharing with tax authorities in participating jurisdictions where customers are tax residents.
- The rules take effect in 2027, with international information exchanges beginning in 2028, and cover cryptocurrency purchases, sales, crypto-to-crypto trades and transfers to external wallets.
- The law aligns Hong Kong with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s crypto-asset reporting framework to combat cross-border tax evasion, without making customer information public.
Hong Kong has approved legislation compelling digital asset platforms and related service providers to gather user and transaction data for taxation objectives starting in 2027, with this data destined for automated transmission to foreign tax regulators beginning in 2028.
The administration stated that these regulations become active in 2027, and the initial sharing of data between tax agencies will commence in 2028.
This legislation incorporates the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which was launched in October 2022 to assist governments in detecting digital asset transactions that might otherwise escape tax reporting.
Digital asset platforms and brokers subject to these mandates will need to log user names, residential addresses, tax jurisdictions, and identification codes, alongside histories of digital asset acquisitions, disposals, and transfers.
Such activities encompass purchasing and liquidating digital currencies, exchanging one coin for a different token, and dispatching assets to outside addresses. The Inland Revenue Department will transmit user specifics and yearly transaction sums to tax agencies in cooperating regions where those users hold tax residency.
Hong Kong established authorization mandates for digital asset platforms in 2023. Pursuant to the latest legislation, these platforms are additionally obligated to submit user transaction records to foreign tax regulators.
Christopher Hui, the secretary for financial services and the treasury in Hong Kong, remarked that these policies will assist in fighting international tax evasion.
Hong Kong has shared financial profile details with foreign tax agencies under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard since 2018. Legislative updates broadening that framework to cover additional digital financial instruments will become active in 2028, with data sharing commencing in 2029.
The Inland Revenue Department announced it will release instructions and offer technical assistance to aid companies in meeting these requirements.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/11/04/hong-kong-passes-law-requiring-crypto-exchanges-to-report-customer-transactions-to-tax-authorities.
