Whereas the Western world debates easy methods to regulate stablecoins, Hong Kong is forging forward with a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies pegged to conventional monetary property.
The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) is within the technique of in search of feedback from the general public relating to stablecoins and goals to introduce a regulatory framework by the top of 2024, mentioned the town’s Undersecretary for Monetary Providers and the Treasury, Joseph Chan Ho-lim, according to local media.
Whereas the U.S. authorities is toughening its stance on the crypto industry within the wake of TerraUSD (UST)’s collapse and FTX’s implosion, the crypto neighborhood in China is heralding Hong Kong’s rising coverage clarification relating to the nascent asset class.
On June 1, Hong Kong formally set in movement a new crypto regulatory regime during which exchanges should acquire licenses in an effort to function within the metropolis. Beneath the brand new framework, licensed exchanges will be capable of let retail buyers commerce sure main cryptocurrencies, which have been alleged to be Ether and Bitcoin.
The coverage improvement is a significant milestone for the area that has ventured in the opposite direction as mainland China, the place crypto buying and selling is illegitimate. The welcoming stance o Hong Kong, some have argued, is a results of the historic position the town has played as a sandbox for the rest of China.
Hong Kong’s stablecoin regulation has been a very long time coming. In January 2022, the HKMA issued a dialogue paper on crypto-assets and stablecoins. Then in January 2023, the HKMA revealed the conclusion to the dialogue paper, which confirmed that the HKMA would take a “risk-based and agile strategy” in regulating stablecoins.
Because it labored on the town’s personal crypto laws throughout 2022, the HKMA also participated in creating regulatory requirements and suggestions on stablecoins, particularly these of the Monetary Stability Board. The FSB is a global physique that displays and makes suggestions relating to the worldwide monetary system, and within the web3 realm, it has been described because the “de facto leader” in framing international crypto guidelines.
The proposed guidelines specified by the discussion paper are, in fact, topic to alter, nevertheless it provides an early glimpse into the town’s stance on stablecoin regulation. For one, the HKMA proposed to prioritize the event of a regulatory framework for stablecoins as a method of cost and begin with regulating stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, since they’re extra more likely to pose imminent monetary stability dangers.
As well as, the paper maintains that stablecoins have to be absolutely backed by high-quality and high-liquidity property always. Stablecoins that derive their worth based mostly on arbitrage or algorithm won’t be accepted, which successfully guidelines out algorithmically stabilized tokens like UST. Stablecoin holders also needs to be capable of redeem the stablecoins into fiat currencies inside an inexpensive interval, the paper says.