Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Next week will announce the "stablecoin issuer license" system and application method! The regulation will take effect in August.

Hong Kong will launch the "Stablecoin Regulation" on August 1, and next week the Monetary Authority will announce the licensing system and application procedures. (Background: Strict laws! Hong Kong fully regulates Crypto Assets OTC traders: Unlicensed operations face up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 5 million HKD) (Supplementary background: New money and old money in Hong Kong are surging towards stablecoins.) The issuance of stablecoins has already become rampant, and the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Yu Wai-man, stated on July 23 that the "Stablecoin Regulation" will take effect on August 1, and any unlicensed promotion or sale of stablecoins in the future will constitute illegal behavior. This reform, under the name of "stability," officially incorporates digital assets into the risk management framework of traditional finance. New law coming into effect: Unlicensed equals illegal. The regulation focuses on "fiat currency reference stablecoins" (FRS), and any stablecoin pegged to HKD, USD, etc., issued or promoted to Hong Kong residents must hold a license from the Monetary Authority. Securities, NFTs, central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and game tokens are not included in the regulations. Yu Wai-man reminded that there have been individuals who suffered significant losses in the past due to believing in high-interest promises. The Monetary Authority will announce a summary explanation of the licensing next week and give the market a six-month transition period; during the transition period, unlicensed products are prohibited from promoting to retail investors. Key points of supervision: Licensing priority: All issuing entities must obtain an HKMA license to issue or promote fiat currency reference stablecoins (FRS) in Hong Kong. This covers all HKD-pegged stablecoins, regardless of the place of issuance. Capital requirements: Applicants for licenses must establish a company or office in Hong Kong, with a minimum paid-in capital of 25 million HKD, reflecting the high regulatory requirements for financial resilience. Fully collateralized: All stablecoins must be fully backed by 100% high-quality and highly liquid assets (cash or government bonds) and managed separately from the issuer's other assets, ensuring that holders can redeem at face value at any time. Cybersecurity: Private Keys must be stored in a tamper-proof environment, and trading platforms must maintain asset segregation, key protection, and audit logs to reduce risks of hacking and internal control errors. If the issuer goes bankrupt, holders have direct claims to the collateralized assets, which is seen as the "last line of defense" from a legal perspective. "Invitation-only" licensing. Unlike the usual public application routes, the HKMA adopts a "phased, invitation-only" approach. Currently, over 40 entities have expressed interest, but only a "single-digit" number of stablecoin licenses are expected to be issued in the first batch. The local market interprets this as preferring quality over quantity, initially introducing operators with strong capital capabilities and compliance culture to establish demonstration standards before gradually expanding. Related reports: A 1 billion yen house in Tokyo is "being bought by people from Hong Kong and Taiwan," with local real estate brokers arbitrarily raising prices. JD.com and Ant Group lobbied the People’s Bank of China to issue offshore "Renminbi stablecoins" in Hong Kong, challenging the dollar's hegemony. <Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Announcing the "Stablecoin Issuer License" system and application procedures next week! Regulation effective in August> This article was first published in BlockTempo, the most influential Blockchain news media.