From TradFi to Tokenisation: How Hong Kong Banks Are

The New Reality for Hong Kong’s Financial Institutions

The lines between traditional finance and digital assets are blurring fast.

As Hong Kong positions itself as Asia’s leading digital-asset hub, major banks and brokers are moving beyond pilot projects to build real capability in tokenisation, custody, and virtual-asset ETFs.

For many of these institutions, this is the first time they’ve had to rethink decades-old operating models — not just in technology, but in people.

To stay competitive, banks now need a digitally fluent workforce: professionals who understand both the regulatory rigour of TradFi and the innovation driving Web3.

Why Tokenisation Is Changing Banking Talent

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)has made it clear that digital assets are not a passing trend. With clearer frameworks for tokenisation, stable coins, and regulated exchanges, the market is moving into an execution phase.

Banks are responding by building new divisions dedicated to:

Tokenised securities and funds
Digital-asset custody and settlement
Virtual-asset ETFs and structured products

These shifts demand new capabilities — but instead of replacing existing teams, many institutions are choosing tore-skill and evolve their current workforce.

The Rise of the Hybrid Professional

The most in-demand talent in Hong Kong’s banking sector today sits at the intersection of TradFi and Web3.

We’re seeing the rise of hybrid profiles:

Risk and Compliance Specialists
who understand crypto custody and token issuance frameworks.
Product Managers
who can translate tokenisation concepts into investable retail and institutional products.
Operations and Treasury Professionals
comfortable managing digital-asset liquidity and on-chain settlements.

These individuals bridge two worlds — and are becoming the cornerstone of every serious bank’s digital-asset strategy.

Why Upskilling Alone Isn’t Enough

While internal training programmes are a good start, most banks still face gaps in expertise that can’t be filled overnight.

Many have launched digital-asset academies or partnerships with blockchain education platforms, but on-the-job experience remains scarce. The most effective approach is a combination of:

Targeted hiring
of crypto-literate professionals from fintechs, exchanges, and asset-management firms.
Structured re-skilling
of internal teams, supported by external subject-matter experts.
Leadership coaching
for senior executives overseeing tokenisation and custody projects.

This blend ensures banks build institutional knowledge while bringing in external perspective — a model that has proven highly effective for clients Captar Partners supports in Hong Kong.

How Captar Partners Helps

As a specialist recruitment partner in Fintech, Digital Assets, and Web3, Captar Partners works with banks, brokers, and asset managers to:

Identify
hybrid TradFi-Web3 talent
who understand both financial regulation and blockchain infrastructure.
Build
strategic hiring plans
aligned with digital-asset growth priorities.
Support
re-skilling and succession planning, ensuring long-term capability development.

Our insight into both the banking and digital-asset talent markets across Hong Kong and Singapore enables us to bridge the gap between traditional institutions and emerging crypto-native expertise.

Final Thoughts

For Hong Kong’s banks, digital assets are no longer an experiment — they’re a competitive reality.

The winners in this next phase won’t be those who move fastest, but those who build the right teams— blending compliance, product, and innovation to lead with confidence.