Hong Kong to Launch Stablecoin Licensing Regime in 2026 as Digital Asset Push Accelerates
Hong Kong will introduce a licensing framework for stablecoins by 2026, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The MOVE expands the city's regulatory oversight beyond the 11 licensed virtual asset trading platforms approved since 2023, applying the "same activity, same risk, same regulation" principle to maintain market stability.
Chan highlighted blockchain's transformative role in capital markets during an Animoca Brands-hosted meeting, citing tokenized assets and genomic data as key innovation drivers. The government has issued $2.1 billion in tokenized green bonds across three batches, while regulatory sandboxes test cutting-edge financial applications.
The stablecoin initiative arrives as global dollar-pegged token market capitalization surpasses $310 billion. Hong Kong's phased approach—first regulating exchanges, now stablecoins—positions it as a controlled environment for institutional crypto adoption.