From Capital Efficiency to Dual Returns: xBrokers Redefines the Hong Kong Stock Participation Experience

Written by: Ethan Cole

When it comes to cross-border investments in Hong Kong stocks, the cumbersome processes of account opening, currency exchange, and settlement are unavoidable. The procedures are complex and costly, with funds from overseas investors to Hong Kong-listed companies often passing through multiple intermediaries. Retail investors have almost no chance to participate, and institutions are also less willing to allocate due to efficiency and cycle issues. For a long time, this gap in capital efficiency has been a major bottleneck for the internationalization of Hong Kong stocks.

At previous related seminars, many financial and policy experts have pointed out that Hong Kong must take proactive steps in the RWA and stablecoin sectors to maintain its leading position in the global financial landscape. Dr. George Lam (former Chairman of Cyberport and Honorary Chairman of the RWA Institute) made remarks that were particularly noteworthy. He reminded the industry that if Hong Kong misses the window for combining RWA and stablecoins, it may lose its voice in the next round of infrastructure upgrades.

The Efficiency Gap in Traditional Cross-Border Investment

Traditional cross-border investment requires cumbersome account opening, currency exchange, and settlement processes, with multiple layers of friction between overseas investors and Hong Kong-listed companies. For retail investors, the barriers to entry are almost insurmountable; for institutions, the cycle and costs weaken their motivation to allocate. This efficiency gap is precisely the real-world scenario where stablecoins and Web3 technology can make a difference.

Specifically, overseas investors participating in Hong Kong stock investments usually need 2-4 weeks to complete the account opening process. Currency exchange involves multiple banks and clearing institutions, with each step incurring time costs and fees. For small and medium investors, these fixed costs often account for a significant proportion of the investment amount, severely affecting their willingness to invest.

Tax processing and compliance requirements are even more complex. Tax rules, anti-money laundering requirements, and information disclosure standards differ across jurisdictions, and investors need professional services to complete compliance operations. This complexity not only increases costs but also adds operational risks, deterring many potential investors.

Settlement efficiency is also a pain point. T+2 or T+3 settlement cycles seem outdated in the digital age, with obvious capital occupancy and opportunity costs. When markets experience rapid fluctuations, long settlement cycles amplify risks and affect investors' risk management effectiveness.

The Capital Efficiency Revolution of the Ju.com Ecosystem

The path provided by Ju.com (formerly JuCoin) and xBrokers is to integrate stablecoins and RWA into a complete chain for Hong Kong stock investments. Investors can participate in subscriptions using either fiat currency or mainstream stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, with all settlement rules transparent and clear, greatly lowering the participation threshold.

The core advantage of this design is the elimination of intermediary steps. In the traditional model, funds must pass through multiple banks and clearing institutions before reaching the target account, with time delays and fees at every stage. With stablecoin settlement, the capital flow path is greatly simplified, allowing funds to move from overseas wallets to Hong Kong stock subscriptions within hours, at only one-tenth the cost of traditional methods.

The 1:1 custodial mechanism ensures that real shares are registered within the broker system, with corresponding on-chain proof, making both ownership and capital flow verifiable. This addresses the security concerns most important to investors: where the money goes and whether the stocks are truly under their name. The broker system provides compliance assurance from traditional finance, while blockchain offers transparency and verifiability, together creating a new trust model.

Ju.com's global user base (50 millions users across more than 30 countries) provides a practical foundation for this model. The platform has already accumulated experience in cross-jurisdictional compliance, multi-currency settlement capabilities, and a global customer service system, enabling it to provide localized services for Hong Kong stock investors. This scale advantage is difficult to replicate through pure technological innovation alone.

Long-Term Value Creation with the Dual-Yield Model

Improving capital efficiency is only the first step; the key is how to retain investors. On this basis, Ju.com has launched a "dual-yield" design: on one hand, investors receive dividends like traditional shareholders; on the other, they can choose to stake their stocks and receive RWA token rewards within a compliant framework.

Dividends provide a cash flow foundation, while staking incentives offer additional returns. With these two curves combined, investors are naturally more willing to hold long-term. The platform has also established a buffer pool mechanism to provide redemption and dividend guarantees during extreme market conditions. As the scale of staking expands, the buffer pool becomes more sufficient, incentives more stable, and investor holding stickiness further increases.

This model is different from many "stock tokenization" projects. The latter mostly only provide price mapping, where investors see price fluctuations, but rights and returns often depend on intermediary arrangements. Ju.com, however, fully integrates ownership, dividends, and staking incentives, allowing investors to enjoy real stock rights and on-chain incentives, with higher transparency and security.

Fundamental Differences from Stock Tokenization

The difference from simple "stock tokenization" is that Ju.com provides investors not just with price mapping, but a complete chain of evidence and rights. Many stock tokenization projects only offer price exposure, with investors unable to enjoy dividends, voting, and other shareholder rights, and unclear claims paths when issues arise.

The complete chain of evidence includes three levels: broker system position records, on-chain ownership proof, and the platform's middle-office rights processing trajectory. Investors can verify the consistency of information from all three parties at any time to ensure their rights are protected. When events such as dividends, rights issues, or mergers and acquisitions occur, all processes are fully recorded, allowing investors to clearly understand the rights they are entitled to.

This transparency is especially important for long-term capital. Institutional investors, when choosing investment targets, focus on rights protection and information transparency. When these elements are technically guaranteed, investment decisions are made with greater confidence and willingness to allocate increases.

A Standardized Path Benchmarking Nasdaq

This is exactly what long-term capital cares about: whether dividends can be paid on time and whether accounts can be checked at any time. The reason Nasdaq has become the world's most active market is its transparency and standardization, and Hong Kong, during the RWA + stablecoin window, also has the opportunity to rewrite this logic.

Nasdaq's success factors include: unified information disclosure standards, transparent trading rules, efficient settlement systems, and a diversified investor structure. These elements together create a market environment with both depth and activity, attracting sustained global capital allocation.

xBrokers is adapting these successful elements to the Hong Kong stock environment. Standardization is reflected in the normative and predictable subscription process, transparency in on-chain proof and real-time query functions, and efficiency improvement in stablecoin settlement and rapid confirmation mechanisms. When these elements operate maturely, the international competitiveness of the Hong Kong stock market will be significantly enhanced.

Of particular importance is the realization here of Dr. George Lam's emphasis on "distributed custody and settlement efficiency." The traditional centralized custody model relies on a single institution, with single-point risk. The distributed model uses multi-party verification and proof, improving system resilience and transparency while maintaining compliance.

Synergistic Development of Policy and Practice

When RWA and stablecoins become the norm, and the dual-yield model is accepted by more investors, the attractiveness of Hong Kong stocks will be systematically enhanced.

For investors, this means lower entry barriers, more transparent ownership protection, and more diversified sources of returns; for companies, it means a broader investor base, more robust long-term buying, and more efficient financing channels; for Hong Kong, it means reshaping its advantages in the competition among global financial centers.

The "proactive approach" emphasized by experts such as Dr. George Lam is being concretely addressed in the practices of Ju.com and xBrokers. This is not about overturning the existing system, but making it more efficient, more transparent, and more accessible. For the Hong Kong capital market, this is a strategic opportunity and a window that must be seized.