The government of Hong Kong intends to introduce legislation for issuers of stablecoins and over-the-counter services for virtual assets.
The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau have started two industry-related consultations in the last few months. An official stated on Wednesday that Hong Kong’s government has reaffirmed its intention to move forward with enacting laws pertaining to over-the-counter (OTC) services and stablecoins.
The announcement comes after the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced in December that they will be holding a public consultation on the regulation of stablecoin issuers.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrency tokens whose value is correlated with another asset, usually the US dollar or gold. The FSTB also started a survey earlier this month on ideas for a licencing system for companies that offer over-the-counter trading services.
Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, responded in writing to a query regarding the regulation of cryptocurrency trading. “Subject to the consultation outcomes and progress of the preparatory work, the Government will submit bills on the above licencing regimes to the Legislative Council as soon as practicable,” Hui stated.
The city, a special administrative region of China, is following suit with numerous other global authorities seeking to hone their strategies towards the sector. According to recent sources, it has released guidelines for companies that provide crypto custodial services and is considering whether to allow a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).