Crypto news

Stablecoins Set to Swirl: Hong Kong’s License Drama and the Dance of Digital Giants

BBG News

As legislation for our darling crypto waltzes forth worldwide—with all the subtlety of a rhinoceros skipping rope—Hong Kong’s own Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po (a name that really does roll off the tongue, if you’re rolling downhill), declared to the ever-venerable China Daily that the city’s regulators are poised to bestow stablecoin licenses upon “qualified issuers” before the year’s over. Picture proud bureaucrats preparing rubber stamps, hands trembling with anticipation or perhaps a recent lunch mishap. 🥢

Hong Kong Girds Its Loins for License Ballet

The passage of the outlandishly awaited Stablecoins Ordinance on May 21 has not, regrettably, resulted in street parades, but it does mean that anyone even dreaming of pinning a stablecoin to the festive HK dollar (or any generic fiat) must now supplicate before the mighty HKMA, license application in sweaty hand. No rogue tokens here, thank you very much! From August 1, only the anointed—those with fresh wax seals from regulatory high priests—will be permitted to release fiat-referenced stablecoins within the fragrant harbor of Hong Kong.

Retail investors, bless their hopeful, glittering eyes, must settle for tokens sprouting—no, blooming—from the loins of officially recognized institutions. We are told the Ordinance is intended to “foster responsible, sustainable development”—which is precisely what one says when trying to prevent the marketplace from turning into a tavern brawl at midnight. 🍹

The Secretary, a connoisseur of incremental progress, extolled the government’s “step-by-step” strategy. Yes, like a cautious gentleman wading through an unexpectedly deep puddle: first, regulation; perhaps later, stablecoins that dare to mingle with the real economy. Or at least stablecoins that do something, anything, beyond making numbers jitter across an app. We hold our breath.

He confessed—with the solemn air of a man revealing a third helping of dessert—that fiat-tethered stablecoins possess “many use case scenarios,” especially for that racy and titillating activity known as cross-border payments. If only he’d said “transdimensional remittances,” just for flair.

Big Names, Bigger Sighs: The Corporate Waltz

It turns out our regulatory soiree has not escaped the sniffing hounds of commerce. Several hopeful firms are already lining up, jostling for those golden tickets of legitimacy. Among them, Reitar Logtech (think: moving boxes but with code), the itinerant fingers of Ant Group, and JD.com’s fintech ingenues at JD Coinlink, all eager to leap through the regulator’s sandbox—careful not to step on any rakes.

The sandbox, by the way, evokes the delightful disorder of a toddler’s playdate, but with less shrieking and more spreadsheets. JD Coinlink has recently wrapped up “phase two” of its undoubtedly rigorous testing, forecasting a grand debut of the JD Stablecoin by early Q4 of 2025—presumably after a third and possibly ceremonial phase of poking at keyboards and consulting clipboards.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific, the titans of tech in the US (Apple, X, Airbnb, Google—basically, your entire address book) are furtively discussing how to slip stablecoins into their own payment systems. Their motives? Why, cross-border payments and lower transaction costs (again)! If there’s any company not currently “exploring stablecoins,” it’s probably because they’re still figuring out how email works.

Of course, none of this happens without the US Congress performing its own little legislative fandango before the summer recess—GENIUS and Clarity, two acts with names so self-assured, one wonders if committee meetings end with a mirror pep-talk. 💸

Read More

2025-06-24 12:27

Previous post Johnny Depp claims he was betrayed by some of his closest friends who deserted him after he was accused of abuse by ex-wife Amber Heard
Next post Iris Law clarifies relationship status after sparking romance rumours with DJ Tommy Gold on Notting Hill outing