Hong Kong will assess the dangers and research Beijing’s financial insurance policies earlier than launching yuan-pegged stablecoins to bolster the internationalisation of the Chinese language forex, in response to a neighborhood senior official.
Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Secretary for Monetary Companies and the Treasury, mentioned throughout a panel on Wednesday at the Lujiazui Discussion board in Shanghai that whereas Hong Kong was technically able to proceed, extra time was wanted to guage the benefits and downsides of issuing such a cryptocurrency.
“The dangers and financial coverage instructions have to be studied, as there might be each advantages and disadvantages to issuing a linked stablecoin,” he mentioned. “We have to align our issues with nationwide policymaking and [Beijing’s] highway map [for yuan internationalisation].”
Final month, Hong Kong handed new laws requiring issuers of stablecoins – digital tokens pegged to a reference asset like a fiat forex – to be licensed by the Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA). The legislation is about to take impact on August 1.
Throughout the opening session of the Lujiazui Discussion board on Wednesday, China’s central financial institution governor Pan Gongsheng mentioned digital currencies, together with stablecoins, have been reshaping conventional fee methods and considerably shortening cross-border fee chains, whereas additionally presenting “important challenges to monetary regulation”.