Hong Kong handed a stablecoin invoice that can allow the area to determine a licensing regime for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers.
“Hong Kong’s stablecoins are backed by fiat forex as underlying property, and we welcome world enterprises and establishments all for issuing stablecoins to use in Hong Kong,” legislative council member Johnny Ng stated on X on Wednesday.
Establishments are anticipated to have the ability to apply for a license from the Hong Kong Financial Authority by the year-end.
Hong Kong has been engaged on establishing a stablecoin regime since 2023. The nation had printed a session paper on stablecoin pointers in the direction of the finish of 2023. It later launched the Stablecoin Invoice, which the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Particular Administrative Area handed in its third studying, Ng’s submit stated.
The area has been seeking to sustain with nations world wide which were establishing their stablecoin regimes. The European Union began licensing stablecoin issuers final yr after passing its wide-ranging bespoke crypto invoice, referred to as the Markets in Crypto Property regulation (MiCa). In the meantime, the U.S. has a stablecoin invoice that’s passing by way of Congress, and the U.Okay. has been gathering suggestions on draft laws that can additionally have an effect on stablecoins.
The stablecoin sector has grow to be the most popular development in recent times, with each crypto and TradFi corporations ramping up their publicity to the trade. Ben Reynolds, BitGo’s managing director of stablecoins, stated at Consensus 2025 that giant banks are more and more taking discover of the trade, largely out of concern that they are going to lose market share to the digital {dollars}.
Learn extra: Banks Exploring Stablecoin Amid Fears of Dropping Market Share, BitGo Govt Says
