Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Treasury Bureau: A 6-month "no violation period" transition period will be set for stablecoin issuers, but license applications must be submitted within the first 3 months

Odaily Odaily News: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently announced the list of participants in the "Sandbox" for stablecoin issuers. The first batch of three groups of institutions "entered the box" for testing, involving major application scenarios including payment, supply chain management and capital market use cases. Chen Haolian, deputy director of the Hong Kong Treasury Bureau, said that in addition to the current virtual asset trading platform regulatory system, the establishment of a licensing system for legal currency stablecoin issuers will strengthen the consistency of Hong Kong's virtual asset regulatory framework with international standards. The system has a transition period. Issuers with meaningful and substantial issuance business can continue to operate during the 6-month "no violation period" transition period after the system takes effect, but must submit a license application within the first 3 months, otherwise they must orderly close their business before the end of the fourth month. The authorities will strengthen investor education and information release. Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang believes that the government's position on the regulatory system of virtual assets is clear and the direction is clear, but he also noticed that some laws may involve different government departments, such as the HKMA and the Securities and Futures Commission, and may involve the Customs in the future. He hopes that Hong Kong can improve the development and regulatory framework of Web3 and virtual assets as soon as possible. He also expects the government to publish the entire Web3 development roadmap and sustainable development roadmap this year to help point the direction for the industry. He specifically mentioned that many international companies that have developed well in Web3 have come to Hong Kong recently and are currently in the "burning money" stage. He believes that the government's provision of a clear roadmap will help enhance the confidence of overseas investors to develop in Hong Kong. Legislative Council member Qiu Dagen believes that the HKMA launched the "sandbox" for stablecoin issuers in March this year. As of a few days ago, it was announced that the first batch of three groups of institutions can "enter the box" for testing. However, the application process gives people a sense of lack of transparency, such as the start time of the "sandbox" and how long it will take to officially issue a license. He believes that there are still many unresolved issues before the official issuance of a license, such as virtual asset custody, intermediaries, etc., and hopes that the authorities will prepare in advance. He is also concerned that many companies in the market have issued stablecoins in other places, and whether the authorities can consider these companies with international experience in the next round of "sandboxes". (Wen Wei Po)