By establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework, the city aims to attract global fintech talent, promote innovation and ensure the security and integrity of digital asset transactions.
Hong Kong will strengthen its digital asset regulation over the next 18 months as part of its mission to become a global fintech hub.
At the annual "Vision 2024" summit, Chiu Tat-cheung, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, introduced Hong Kong's strategic plan to attract technological talent, build new infrastructure and establish strong legislative oversight.
Establish a sound digital asset framework
Qiu stressed that the initiative is crucial for the tech industry in the next five to ten years. "The digital asset industry has made significant progress in the past few years, but we are still in a very early stage," Qiu said. "We should establish a sound trading system and introduce legislation related to stablecoins as soon as possible."
Stablecoins, a cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset such as a fiat currency, are expected to be launched in Hong Kong by the end of 2024.
Edward Yau said that the sandbox test has begun and the government plans to strengthen the supervision and enforcement of relevant laws on digital asset financial products within one to one and a half years. In the next stage, project parties will be encouraged to explore more innovative financial products in Hong Kong.
Stablecoin Sandbox
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently announced the first participants of the stablecoin issuance sandbox on July 7, including a company associated with a major Chinese e-commerce retailer, a local fintech company, and an alliance of Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom.
JD.com CoinLink Technology is also one of the participants and plans to issue a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the Hong Kong dollar.
The planned stablecoin legislation highlights Hong Kong’s pro-crypto finance approach, which aims to foster innovation while ensuring regulatory oversight. On July 7, CSOP Asset Management, one of China’s largest asset managers, launched Asia’s first inverse Bitcoin futures product in Hong Kong.
The CSOP Bitcoin Futures Daily (-1x) Inverse Product (7376.HK) follows the successful launch of the Bitcoin Futures ETF (2022.HK) in December 12.