The Hong Kong government today welcomed the passage of the Stablecoins bill by the Legislative Council to establish a licensing regime for Stablecoins (FRS) publishers reported in FIAT (FRS) in Hong Kong.
Following the implementation of the Stablecoins Decree, any person issuing FRS in Hong Kong or issues a FRS supposed to maintain a stable value compared to Hong Kong’s dollars in or outside Hong Kong will need to be licensed by the Monetary Authority (MA).
Related persons must meet the requirements in areas such as the management of assets and redemption of reserves, including the proper separation of client assets, maintaining a strong stabilization mechanism and processing the requests of Stablecoin holders for redemption.
Related persons must also comply with a number of claims, including those on legalization against revenue from illegal activities and anti -terrorist funding, risk management, disclosure and control and ability and decency.
MA will carry out further consultations on the detailed regulations of the regime in due course.
The regime is going to provide better protection for the general public and investors. Among other things, according to the decree, only the specified licensed institutions can offer FRS to Hong Kong, and only one FRS issued by a publisher can be offered to a retail investor.
In addition, to avoid fraud and fraud, at any time (including the six -month non -consciousness), only FRS advertisements with license are allowed. Public members are advised to take into account the above and take care when receiving advertising materials or messages associated with FRS.
The decree is expected to enter into force this year to allow adequate time for the industry to understand the requirements under the licensing regime. The regime also provides for a transitional arrangement to facilitate industry when applying for license and making appropriate business regulations in accordance with the regime.
The government will continue to support the development of the Virtual Assets (VA) sector. Following the implementation of VA Trading Platform and Stablecoins regulations, the government will soon begin consultations on VA Over-Counter and Court and Guardian and will issue the second policy statement on the development of VAS.