Starting August 2025, Hong Kong will enforce new stablecoin regulations that limit the number of licenses for operators. This decision will intensify competition and potentially lower transaction costs.
Hong Kong and Its New Stablecoin Licenses
Hong Kong plans to introduce stablecoin regulation in August 2025 that will cap the number of licenses at single digits. This will create fierce competition among players such as JD Coin Chain, the Standard Chartered–Anheuser-Busch consortium, Yuan Coin Innovation, and Ant International.
Asia's Unique Approach: Impacts and Prospects
Hong Kong's measure regarding stablecoin licenses is unique in Asia, especially in contrast to broader approaches in Western countries. Analysts believe this could lead to similar actions in other regions.
Expert Opinions
According to Richard Liu, Chairman of JD.com: "We can reduce the global cross-border payment cost by 90% and then improve the efficiency to within ten seconds... I hope one day when I shop around the world I can use JD’s local currency for global payments."
Hong Kong's new stablecoin regulation may lead to significant changes in international financial transactions and positively impact the market by supporting technology and collaboration among companies.
