October 21, 2025

By Our Correspondent

Chinese technology companies, including Ant Group and JD.com, have reportedly suspended plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong after Beijing authorities raised concerns over privately controlled digital currencies.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) instructed the companies to pause their initiatives. “The real regulatory concern is, who has the ultimate right of coinage — the central bank or any private companies on the market?” one source said.

Earlier this year, both Ant and JD.com had expressed interest in joining Hong Kong’s pilot stablecoin programme or launching tokenised financial products, including digital bonds. Hong Kong began accepting applications for stablecoin issuers in August, with mainland authorities initially seeing the scheme as an opportunity to promote renminbi-pegged stablecoins and bolster the yuan’s international use.

Momentum, however, slowed after Ye Zhiheng, executive director of the intermediaries division at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, warned that the city’s new stablecoin regulatory framework heightened the risk of fraud. The warning came shortly after some stablecoin operators in Hong Kong reported double-digit losses on 1 August, just after the regulation took effect.

Last month, Chinese outlet Caixin reported that Beijing had restricted Hong Kong’s stablecoin activity, though the article was later removed, casting doubt on the report.

The regulatory tightening extends beyond stablecoins. China’s securities watchdog is said to have instructed local brokerages to pause real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation in Hong Kong, reflecting growing unease over the rapid expansion of offshore digital asset ventures.

Despite Beijing’s caution, tokenisation activity continues in the city. Last week, CMB International Asset Management, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of China Merchants Bank, tokenised its $3.8bn money market fund on BNB Chain, highlighting the ongoing appetite for digital financial innovation.