Key takeaways:
- As part of its goal to establish itself as a global center for financial technology, Hong Kong plans to strengthen its legislation regarding digital assets within the next 18 months.
- By the end of 2024, Hong Kong is anticipated to launch stablecoins, a class of cryptocurrency linked to dependable assets such as fiat money.
As part of its goal to establish itself as a global center for financial technology, Hong Kong plans to strengthen its legislation regarding digital assets within the next 18 months.
David Chiu, a member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Legislative Council, presented the city’s strategic goals to attract digital talent, construct new infrastructure, and establish solid legislative control at the Foresight 2024 annual summit.
Chiu underlined how important the project will be to the IT sector in the ensuing five to ten years. Chiu stated:
“The digital asset industry has made significant progress in the past few years, but we are still in a very early stage,”
By the end of 2024, Hong Kong is anticipated to launch stablecoins, a class of cryptocurrency linked to dependable assets such as fiat money.
Chiu claims that within a year or so, the government will improve oversight and enforcement of laws about financial products, including digital assets, and that sandbox tests have already been completed. Project parties will be encouraged to investigate new cutting-edge financial products in Hong Kong throughout the upcoming phase.
On July 18, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority declared the initial participants of its stablecoin issuer sandbox. Participants include a local fintech startup, a company associated with a major Chinese e-commerce shop, and a consortium comprising Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications.
Among the partners is Jingdong Coinlink Technology, which intends to launch a 1:1 stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar.
The proposed stablecoin laws highlight Hong Kong’s pro-crypto financial strategy, which seeks to promote innovation while maintaining regulatory control. One of China’s most prominent asset managers, CSOP Asset Management, introduced Asia’s first Bitcoin futures inverse product in Hong Kong on July 23.
The company’s Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066[.]HK) was successfully launched in December 2022, and it was followed by the CSOP Bitcoin Future Daily (-1x) Inverse Product (7376[.]HK).
