January 24, 2025
By Our Correspondent
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has convened for the first time to deliberate on the government’s proposed stablecoin legislation since its initial reading in December, as the region seeks to establish comprehensive regulations to position itself as a cryptocurrency hub.
A committee within the Legislative Council focused on the “Stablecoins Bill” held a meeting on Tuesday, attended by key government officials to examine the specifics of the proposed regulatory framework.
As reported by the local newspaper Da Kung Pao, Francis Ho, the deputy secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (FSTB), indicated during the meeting that regulators plan to mandate stablecoin issuers to secure a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The bill, which was presented to the Legislative Council on December 18 for its first reading, would also require stablecoin issuers to implement a robust reserve stabilization mechanism and ensure that the assets backing the stablecoins consist of high-quality and highly liquid assets.
In 2023, Hong Kong has actively welcomed cryptocurrency firms by introducing a licensing regime for crypto trading platforms. Additionally, in March of the previous year, the HKMA initiated a sandbox for stablecoin issuers, which has included participants such as Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, Hong Kong Telecommunications, Jingdong Coinlink, and RD InnoTech.
Simultaneously, another subcommittee of the Legislative Council focused on cryptocurrency development convened on Tuesday to review the existing licensing framework for crypto trading platforms.
During this meeting, Joseph Chan, the undersecretary of the FSTB, announced that the Securities and Futures Commission will establish a consultation panel for crypto trading platforms to ensure that their perspectives and requirements are adequately addressed.
Chan also mentioned that the authorities are contemplating regulations for over-the-counter crypto trading and had conducted the first round of public consultation last year, with plans to initiate a second round of consultation this year.