Share this article
Hong Kong to Prepare Stablecoin Legislation as Public Consultation Ends
Hong Kong authorities plan to introduce a bill into the Legislative Council before year-end.
Updated Jul 17, 2024, 6:01 p.m. Published Jul 17, 2024, 12:25 p.m.
- Hong Kong's regulators published the conclusions from their consultation on a stablecoin regime.
- The next step is to prepare a bill for the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong's financial regulators said they plan to present a bill on fiat-referenced stablecoins to the Legislative Council later this year.
The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published the results of a consultation, and concluded that the stablecoin regime would "primarily focus on representations of value which rest on ledgers that are operated in a decentralised manner" in which "no person has the unilateral authority to control or materially alter its functionality or operation."
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The consultation paper for stablecoin guidelines published at the end of last year received 108 submissions from stakeholders. The regulators plan to take suggestions from respondents before finalizing the bill for the legislative process.
The regulators confirmed their initial proposal that any person who issues a stablecoin in Hong Kong must obtain a license. While they say keeping reserve assets with banks licensed in Hong Kong could provide greater user protection, they are open to considering proposals on placing reserve assets in other jurisdictions.
Foreign entities intending to apply for a license will be required to establish a Hong Kong subsidiary and have key management personnel, including a CEO, in the territory.
After considering the responses, the HKMA said it is "inclined to reduce the frequency of public disclosure." It had proposed monthly attestation by an independent auditor, and will continue discussions on the matter.
Hong Kong is trying to keep pace with other major jurisdictions in becoming a leading crypto hub. Europe's MiCA stablecoin regime came into force this month and members of Congress in the U.S. are actively attempting to push forward stablecoin bills.
In March, the HKMA started a regulatory sandbox to give potential stablecoin issuers immunity in testing certain operations. In today's announcement, the HKMA said it is processing the applications for the stablecoin issuer sandbox and will announce more shortly.
Read More: Hong Kong's Central Bank Starts Regulatory Sandbox for Stablecoin Issuers
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
CFTC's acting chief Pham poised to go to crypto firm MoonPay once Mike Selig lands
The leader of the derivatives regulator is planning to join the crypto industry as the CFTC and other federal regulators work on policies to benefit the sector.
What to know:
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Caroline Pham confirmed again that she's heading to crypto firm MoonPay when the Senate confirms her replacement and he's sworn in.
- President Donald Trump's CFTC chair nominee Mike Selig was set for a Senate vote Wednesday evening, according to that chamber's schedule.
- Selig, currently an SEC official, would arrive at the CFTC just as several of Pham's crypto initiatives have gone live.
Top Stories
