Chinese-funded brokerages are entering the blockchain battlefield! Guotai Junan International makes a major move into "tokenization of securities" and "digital bonds".

Written by: AM DAO

On May 9, 2025, Hong Kong listed company Guotai Junan International (1788.HK) announced that its two business plans regarding "tokenized securities" and "digital bonds" have been confirmed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission with no further issues and have officially entered the substantial advancement stage.

While many people are still debating whether "security tokenization is the future or just a gimmick", Guotai Junan International directly provides the answer: it’s not just talk; it has officially launched, received regulatory confirmation, and started working.

This also marks a key step for Chinese-funded brokerages in the direction of integrating blockchain with traditional finance, truly moving "from concept to implementation."

What are tokenized securities? In simple terms:

Transform traditional securities (such as stocks, bonds, and funds) into digital assets through distributed ledger technology (such as blockchain), while remaining compliant, regulated, and integrated with the existing financial system.

Tokenized securities and digital bonds

Two main lines, fully powering up.

In January 2025, Guotai Junan International was the first to submit a distribution and advisory service plan for tokenized securities to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, becoming one of the first mainstream financial institutions in the region to explore the "on-chain" path for traditional financial assets.

The plan covers multiple key asset classes, including:

Structured products linked to various underlying assets (such as structured notes and over-the-counter derivatives)

The CSRC recognizes funds and non-recognized funds as well as bonds.

This initiative is highly aligned with the virtual asset market regulatory roadmap "A-S-P-I-Re" released by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in February 2025. The roadmap proposes five key pillars:

Access

Safeguards

Products

Infrastructure

Relationships

Aiming to provide a future-oriented regulatory framework for Hong Kong's virtual asset ecosystem, facilitating the integration of traditional finance and blockchain technology.

In order to better align with market developments, Guotai Junan International not only provides innovative issuance solutions for clients on the sales side, but also submitted a digital bond issuance business plan to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, targeting the debt capital market and exploring a full-chain service for tokenized bond issuance.

In the future, Guotai Junan International will have the ability to serve as the overall coordinator, syndicate capital market intermediary, or "delivery agent" among other roles in digital bond issuance projects, with this plan being confirmed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in April 2025.

Guotai Junan International's plan not only reflects its forward-looking layout in the fintech field but also provides a practical case for Hong Kong to explore the integration of "virtual assets + traditional finance."

Compliance + Technology

Chinese-funded brokerages have begun the "on-chain competition".

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a guidance circular on activities related to tokenized securities as early as November 2023, providing regulatory clarity for intermediaries participating in tokenized securities activities and encouraging the tokenization of traditional financial instruments. Subsequently, the "tokenization process" of the entire Hong Kong capital market began to enter the practical stage.

Guotai Junan International, as one of the earliest responding and fastest approved Chinese-funded securities firms, demonstrates two core advantages:

Strategic foresight: technical layout is not about filling gaps, but actively seizing high ground;

Compliance rhythm: synchronize with regulation, avoid empty innovation.

The underlying technological foundation—distributed ledger technology (such as blockchain)—is being integrated into multiple core processes such as issuance, trading, and custody, promoting the "on-chain upgrade" of the securities lifecycle.

They are not following the trend of "blockchain +" but are doing technical reconstruction based on the underlying logic of bond issuance.

This is not the future, this is the present that is happening.

Don't treat "security tokens" as a highbrow term; they are quietly appearing in the investment lists around us.

For brokerages, this is an efficiency revolution + product innovation;

For regulators, this is transparent governance + controllable risks;

For investors, this is a more convenient, diverse, and flexible gateway to the financial world.

The recent actions of Guotai Junan International not only provide a model for Chinese financial institutions to undergo technological transformation, allowing the once niche topic of "tokenized assets" to truly enter the stage of mainstream asset allocation, but also reflect its intention to take the lead in occupying the high ground of technology, regulation, and ecological integration during the institutional window period.

Technology is reshaping the definition of finance, and these changes have just begun.

The approval of Guotai Junan International's "tokenization business" is not just a news event, but a signal of a new financial era.

The next question is: Who will be the first Chinese brokerage firm to achieve "on-chain trading + on-chain clearing + on-chain custody"?

If you care about the real direction of future finance, don't miss this "on-chain revolution" that is redefining the rules of the game.