The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launches consultation on legislative proposals to implement a regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers and announces

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority jointly issued a public consultation paper today, collecting opinions on legislative proposals regarding the regulation of stablecoin issuers. By introducing new legislation to implement a licensing system, all eligible fiat-backed stablecoin issuers will be required to obtain a license from the Commissioner of Financial Services; it is stipulated that only designated licensed institutions can provide services for purchasing fiat-backed stablecoins, and only fiat-backed stablecoins issued by licensed issuers can be sold to retail investors; promotion is prohibited, among other things. At the same time, a "sandbox" arrangement will be launched to convey regulatory expectations and provide compliance guidance to issuers who are interested and have specific plans to issue fiat-backed stablecoins in Hong Kong, while collecting their opinions on the proposed regulatory requirements to promote the implementation of subsequent regulatory systems and ensure that the systems are in line with regulatory goals.