PANews reported on July 17 that according to Bloomberg, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) plans to introduce a licensing system for stablecoin issuers. Under the proposed system, stablecoin issuers that track the price of fiat currencies must obtain a license from the HKMA and publish proof of reserve assets audited by a third party every month to ensure that stablecoins are fully backed by reserves. The proposed regulations are expected to be submitted for legislative review later this year.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Hui said the licensing system will further strengthen the regulatory framework for virtual assets in Hong Kong. In recent years, Hong Kong has allowed limited retail cryptocurrency trading and issued licenses to digital asset exchanges. Earlier this year, a number of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were also launched.
