Hong Kong to trial stablecoin with participants including Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands

Hong Kong has announced the first batch of stablecoin sandbox participants but warned that they aren’t allowed to solicit funding from the public just yet, as the region continues its drive to become a cryptocurrency hub.

In a statement released late Thursday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority — the de facto central bank — said that it allows institutions to trial operational plans for stablecoin issuance “with a view to formulating a fit-for-purpose and risk-based regulatory regime.”

The sandbox, which the HKMA announced in March, will see participation from Jindong Coinlink Technology, RD InnoTech, Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications for the first batch.

Darryl Chan, deputy chief executive of the HKMA, noted in a separate statement that the sandbox participants must not raise funds from the public or offer investment products in the name of the sandbox. “[They] cannot use the general public’s funds at the initial stage of their testing,” Chan said.

The use cases proposed by the first batch participants center around payments, supply chain management, and further applications in capital markets, according to Chan.

“Stablecoins, as a possible medium for payments, will not only lower costs and reduce transaction time, but also provide various innovative solutions by leveraging their programmability feature,” Chan added. “They will generate more automated and ‘smarter’ financial services, thereby facilitating fund flows and enabling better management of risks associated with the transactions.”

The announcement of the list of sandbox participants came after the authorities published responses to the consultation of a licensing proposal for stablecoin issuers on Wednesday. The key part of the proposal is to require all fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers to obtain a license from the HKMA.

The regulators will finalize the legislative proposal and introduce a bill to the Legislative Council as soon as possible, according to the statement.

The HKMA noted that it will continue to process the applications for the sandbox, urging applicants to come up with specific plans for the issuance, distribution, and redemption of the stablecoin.

“It should be emphasized, though, that sandbox participation is not a prerequisite for the application for a stablecoin issuer license in future,” Chan said. “Sandbox participants that intend to apply for a license later on will still need to submit a formal application when the regulatory regime comes into effect.”