Hong Kong to Introduce Mandatory Licensing for Stablecoin Issuers

Hong Kong's Legislative Council has passed a bill in its third reading that would require issuers of stablecoins pegged to traditional currencies such as the US dollar or Hong Kong dollar (HKD) to obtain mandatory licensing. The bill is expected to come into force by the end of 2025 to allow market participants time to prepare for the new regulations.

A license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is mandatory for all stablecoin issuers. Companies must comply with strict requirements on reserve management (reserves must be liquid and meet certain standards), guaranteed redemption of tokens upon request of the holder, segregation of client assets from corporate funds, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT).

These measures are intended to increase transparency and trust in digital currencies, especially after the collapse of UST Terra/LUNA, which exposed the vulnerability of unregulated stablecoins.

Major players including Circle and Tether have already said they are considering Hong Kong licenses, which could mark a new phase in the legalization of stablecoins in Southeast Asia.

Earlier, we wrote that a pilot project for the release of the HUMO stablecoin, tied to the national currency, the Uzbek sum, is starting in Uzbekistan.