Hong Kong eyes stablecoin regulatory regime by 2024

Whereas the Western world debates how you can regulate stablecoins, Hong Kong is forging forward with a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies pegged to conventional monetary belongings.

The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) is within the technique of searching for feedback from the general public relating to stablecoins and goals to introduce a regulatory framework by the tip of 2024, stated town’s Undersecretary for Monetary Providers and the Treasury, Joseph Chan Ho-lim, in keeping with native media.

Whereas the U.S. authorities is toughening its stance on the crypto trade within the wake of TerraUSD (UST)’s collapse and FTX’s implosion, the crypto neighborhood in China is heralding Hong Kong’s growing coverage clarification relating to the nascent asset class.

On June 1, Hong Kong formally set in movement a brand new crypto regulatory regime by which exchanges should receive licenses with a view to function within the metropolis. Beneath the brand new framework, licensed exchanges will have the ability to let retail buyers commerce sure main cryptocurrencies, which have been alleged to be Ether and Bitcoin.

The coverage improvement is a serious milestone for the area that has ventured in the other way as mainland China, the place crypto buying and selling is unlawful. The welcoming stance o Hong Kong, some have argued, is a results of the historic position town has performed as a sandbox for the remainder of China.

Hong Kong’s stablecoin regulation has been a very long time coming. In January 2022, the HKMA issued a dialogue paper on crypto-assets and stablecoins. Then in January 2023, the HKMA revealed the conclusion to the dialogue paper, which confirmed that the HKMA would take a “risk-based and agile strategy” in regulating stablecoins.

Because it labored on town’s personal crypto rules throughout 2022, the HKMA additionally participated in creating regulatory requirements and suggestions on stablecoins, particularly these of the Monetary Stability Board. The FSB is a world physique that screens and makes suggestions relating to the worldwide monetary system, and within the web3 realm, it has been described because the “de facto chief” in framing world crypto guidelines.

The proposed guidelines specified by the dialogue paper are, in fact, topic to vary, however it gives an early glimpse into town’s stance on stablecoin regulation. For one, the HKMA proposed to prioritize the event of a regulatory framework for stablecoins as a method of cost and begin with regulating stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, since they’re extra more likely to pose imminent monetary stability dangers.

As well as, the paper maintains that stablecoins should be absolutely backed by high-quality and high-liquidity belongings always. Stablecoins that derive their worth primarily based on arbitrage or algorithm won’t be accepted, which successfully guidelines out algorithmically stabilized tokens like UST. Stablecoin holders also needs to have the ability to redeem the stablecoins into fiat currencies inside an affordable interval, the paper says.