Hong Kong looks to release stablecoin regulations by mid-2024, lawmaker says

Hong Kong lawmaker Duncan Chiu said today that Hong Kong is currently running the second round of consultation for stablecoins issuance guidelines.

Chiu said at a forum in Shanghai that he hopes Hong Kong would be set to release regulatory guidelines for stablecoin issuers in the middle of next year, local media reported.

Chiu’s comments come as the region aims to develop itself into a Web3 hub. Unlike its neighboring Chinese mainland’s broader crackdown on cryptocurrencies, Hong Kong has rolled out the welcome mat for crypto firms this year. In June, Hong Kong officially started its crypto licensing regime, allowing licensed exchanges to offer retail trading services. 

In August, a group of industry experts urged the Hong Kong government to issue its own stablecoin HKDG to compete with USDT +0.059% and USDC +0.042% . They said that the government’s current plan, allowing private institutions to issue stablecoins, is not ambitious enough.

Strict enforcement

As Hong Kong is formulating its stablecoin regulations, the city’s authorities have started to probe what it deems as bad players under the crypto retail trading licensing regime.

The police said today that it arrested eight people on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud in relation to cryptocurrency exchange JPEX — and may arrest more as probes continue.

As of Monday night local time, the police had received 1,641 complaints surrounding the JPEX case with claims that they failed to withdraw their holdings at the exchange. The amount of assets involved, according to the complaints, is around HK$1.19 billion ($152 million), the police said.