Head of Digital Assets

The role We want to build a meaningful business in stablecoins and digital assets, but we are not hiring against a predetermined answer. We need a leader who knows the Hong Kong ecosystem, can tell us where the real opportunities are, recommend where we should and should not play, and then lead the work from strategy to launch. You will be our internal authority and external face for this space. You will evaluate use cases and business models, develop the market-entry plan, form the right partnerships and take the strongest opportunities through validation, approval, pilot and commercial launch. As the opportunity proves itself, you will build and lead the team required to scale it. Broad Scope Develop the Group’s Hong Kong and wider APAC digital-asset strategy, grounded in customer needs, regulation, our existing payment capabilities and realistic paths to revenue. Assess opportunities across stablecoin-enabled payments, settlement, cross-border money movement, treasury, wallets, on/off-ramps, card-linked propositions, merchant acceptance, tokenised assets and enabling infrastructure. Prioritise opportunities using clear criteria: market size, customer pain, strategic fit, regulatory feasibility, capability gap, economics, execution risk and time to market. Build relationships with regulators, banks, licensed stablecoin issuers, exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, payment firms, blockchain networks, technology providers, investors and relevant industry communities. Recommend the right entry model for each opportunity. Build, partner, invest, acquire, join a consortium or stop, and prepare decision-ready business cases for management. Translate selected opportunities into a roadmap covering proposition, target clients, operating model, licensing implications, technology, custody, liquidity, settlement, risk controls and go-to-market. Lead partner selection, commercial discussions, pilot design and launch, working closely with Product, Engineering, Payments, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Finance and Treasury. Establish governance and performance measures for the new business, including clear stage gates before material capital or headcount is committed. Hire and lead a focused team as validated opportunities move from exploration to execution and scale. Represent the Group in Hong Kong’s digital-asset ecosystem and build credibility through informed views, strong partnerships and tangible delivery. Broad Expectations Within 90 days: an opportunity landscape, regulatory and capability-gap assessment, shortlist of priority plays and explicit no-go areas. Within six months: an approved market-entry thesis, target operating model, partner shortlist and at least one opportunity in structured validation or pilot design. Within 12 months: one or more launched pilots or commercial partnerships, a measurable route to revenue and a team plan tied to proven demand rather than speculative growth. What we are looking for Typically 10+ years across digital assets, stablecoins, payments, fintech, banking, blockchain infrastructure, financial-market infrastructure or adjacent strategy roles. Deep knowledge of Hong Kong’s digital-asset ecosystem and strong relationships across institutions, regulators, licensed or licence-seeking operators, technology providers and the wider Web3 community. Track record of building a new proposition, business line, market entry or regulated partnership from concept through launch. Pure advisory experience without implementation is unlikely to be enough. Strong commercial and product judgement: able to connect blockchain infrastructure to a real customer problem, viable operating model and credible economics. Working understanding of stablecoin issuance and distribution, reserves and redemption, wallets and custody, on/off-ramps, liquidity, settlement, blockchain networks, AML/KYC and regulatory dependencies. Able to challenge hype, explain trade-offs plainly and tell senior management when an opportunity should not be pursued. Entrepreneurial but disciplined: comfortable starting hands-on, creating structure from ambiguity and building a team only when the case is proven.