The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued a Discussion Paper on Crypto-assets and Stablecoins in January 2022. The Discussion Paper includes guiding principles of a contemplated regulatory regime for payment-related stablecoins, and an invitation to stakeholders to provide feedback on the direction and scope of the new regime by 31 March 2022.
Introduction
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the “HKMA”) has issued a Discussion Paper on Crypto-assets and Stablecoins in January 2022 (the “Discussion Paper”). The Discussion Paper includes some principles of a contemplated regulatory regime for payment-related stablecoins, and an invitation to stakeholders to provide feedback on the direction and scope of the new regime by 31 March 2022.
Existing regulations
In 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission launched a voluntary licensing regime for platforms which allows for the trading of virtual assets or tokens which are “securities” (as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance) to be licensed. This is an opt-in regime rather than a mandatory licensing regime. Furthermore, stablecoins and other crypto-assets which do not fall under the definition of “securities” are not subject to licensing.
Proposed regime
Timeline