4 hours ago
The fig of approved applications is expected to beryllium small, according to reports from China media.
Jul 8, 2025, 10:36 a.m.
Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing regime, acceptable to statesman connected August 1, is drafting important involvement from the region’s fiscal and tech heavyweights, with section media successful China reporting that implicit 40 applications person been received.
But expectations are being tempered by the world that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is apt to o.k. lone a single-digit fig of licenses, according to reports, making this 1 of the astir competitory regulatory races successful the city’s integer concern history.
Despite the unreserved of interest, only 3 firms person been admitted to the HKMA’s stablecoin sandbox truthful far, including a associated task betwixt Standard Chartered and Animoca Brands.
According to an HKMA information sheet, the sandbox was created to let companies with a genuine and well-developed program for issuing fiat-referenced stablecoins to prosecute with regulators, refine compliance models, and connection feedback connected projected rules.
Admission is not an endorsement oregon warrant of licensing and sandbox participants volition inactive request to use formally erstwhile the afloat authorities is live. However, the constricted fig of firms accepted into this investigating signifier offers an aboriginal look astatine however constrictive the support funnel whitethorn be.
Most of the firms preparing to use are among China’s largest banks, outgo processors, and net companies, according to reports.
Standard Chartered’s associated venture, JD.com’s blockchain division, and Ant Group’s integer concern units are each expected to beryllium contenders, with Standard Chartered and JD already sandbox participants.
The HKMA’s cautious attack seems to beryllium accordant with however the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has handled virtual plus platforms, granting conscionable 11 licenses truthful far.
During the SFC licensing process for virtual plus platforms, a fig of high-profile contenders withdrew their applications, and reports astatine the clip indicated that the regulator discovered "unsatisfactory practices" astatine immoderate exchanges.
Read more: Hong Kong Sets Out Plan to Regulate Crypto, Encourage Tokenization
Sam Reynolds
Sam Reynolds is simply a elder newsman based successful Asia. Sam was portion of the CoinDesk squad that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb grant successful the breaking quality class for sum of FTX's collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, helium was a newsman with Blockworks and a semiconductor expert with IDC.
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