Hong Kong's New Elite and Old Money Rush Toward Stablecoins
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Hong Kong's New Elite and Old Money Rush Toward Stablecoins
The time left for the new rich and old money to get a head start is less than half a year.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Xie Zhaoqing, Tencent News "Qianwang"
He Hongzhe, head of the Digital Finance Division at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which oversees stablecoin licensing and related operations, has become one of the most sought-after figures in Hong Kong recently. The HKMA's Stablecoin Ordinance, announced by the Hong Kong government, will take effect on August 1, bringing stablecoins under a licensing regime. Both established financial players and new entrants are now lining up to visit the HKMA’s digital finance department, hoping to gain an early advantage when license applications open next month.
"External interest in Hong Kong's stablecoin initiative is far greater this time than in previous years," revealed an industry insider with deep knowledge of Hong Kong’s crypto scene and frequent interactions with the HKMA. This enthusiasm is evident in the surge of Chinese mainland-affiliated institutions knocking on the HKMA’s door.
Stablecoins—originally emerging from crypto circles—are designed to maintain stable value by being pegged to relatively stable assets such as fiat currencies, commodities, or baskets of assets. This year, they have rapidly entered the mainstream spotlight, largely due to strong support from the Trump administration. Currently, major types of stablecoins in the market include fiat-collateralized, crypto-collateralized, and algorithmic stablecoins.
Unlike earlier narratives, blockchain-based stablecoins offer greater convenience, efficiency, and lower costs in payments and transactions, making their future prospects promising—especially for cross-border payments. This potential is also seen as one of Hong Kong’s biggest development opportunities.
However, the Stablecoin Ordinance released by the Hong Kong government remains a broad legal framework, with specific application details and potential guidelines yet to be clarified. Many individuals and institutions eager to participate in the stablecoin market are seeking more information.
The stablecoins defined by the Hong Kong government are those pegged to fiat currencies—one-to-one face-value collateralization—but the ordinance does not restrict which fiat currency can be used. By linking to fiat money, stablecoins provide a relatively stable form of cryptocurrency, significantly reducing the volatility associated with traditional cryptocurrencies.
Over 20 Chinese Mainland Institutions Meet with HKMA
Tencent News "Qianwang" learned that in recent months, more than 20 Chinese mainland institutions have scheduled meetings with the HKMA’s fintech division responsible for stablecoin matters. These include financial institutions and state-owned enterprises based in Hong Kong. As a result, He Hongzhe and his team have become significantly busier than before.
Besides these proactive mainland-affiliated entities, some long-absent “old money” figures from elite financial and business circles are actively forming teams in Central to join Hong Kong’s stablecoin ventures. They include Dai Yongge, actual controller of Renhe Commercial Group; Lin Yong, former CEO of Haitong International once dubbed “King of Central”; and Zhai Jun, founder of Yunlong Capital.
In addition, Legend Holdings-affiliated Foresight Capital is actively preparing its stablecoin business team in Hong Kong. In 2024, Foresight applied to join the government’s stablecoin “sandbox.” However, the company had not commented on this matter at the time of publication.
Prior to this, in July 2024, the Hong Kong government announced three institutions entering the sandbox: JD Blockchain Technology (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., Circle Innovation Technology Limited, and Richard Li’s Hong Kong Telecom.
Both Ant International and Ant Digital Technologies, under Ant Group, are actively communicating with regulators to apply for stablecoin licenses. Both operate as independent startups within Ant Group’s entrepreneurial business units. Following Ant Group’s 2024 restructuring, a new innovation business segment was formed, including Ant International, Ant Digital Technologies, and OceanBase. Ant Group Chairman and CEO Jing Haodong serves as chairman of Ant International, while Han Xinyi chairs Ant Digital Technologies. Both subsidiaries operate independently. Previously, Ant Group stated it would “support innovation businesses in accelerating their path to market.”
Tencent News "Qianwang" learned that teams from Ant International and Ant Digital Technologies have been conducting crypto-related operations in Hong Kong for some time. Ant Digital Technologies has been promoting RWA (Real World Assets) tokenization in Hong Kong—a use case that could support its stablecoin license application.
RWA refers to the process of tokenizing real-world assets—particularly income-generating ones like hotel leases, photovoltaic power generation, stocks, bonds, or commodities—using blockchain technology, enabling them to be traded, managed, and circulated on-chain.
In simple terms, RWA involves converting physical-world assets into tokens and managing them via blockchain, effectively facilitating financing for traditional assets. Over the past few years, several Hong Kong teams, including Ant Digital Technologies, have been engaged in such activities.
While certain industry insiders remain skeptical about combining RWA with stablecoins compared to straightforward use cases like cross-border payments, other players—including JD Blockchain—are actively exploring this direction. JD Blockchain even recruited several key personnel from Ant Digital Technologies’ RWA team.
Meanwhile, JD Blockchain has publicly announced plans to apply for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong. Beyond RWA tied to JD International Logistics, its proposal includes cross-border payment scenarios involving JD.com’s services in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan—though on a much smaller scale than Ant International’s WorldFirst.
WorldFirst, acquired by Ant Group in 2019, is a UK-based foreign exchange company specializing in international payment services for businesses and individual sellers. Its core businesses include international remittances, foreign exchange options trading, and merchant payment collection and settlement on global e-commerce platforms.
Public data shows that since Ant Group’s acquisition, WorldFirst has grown rapidly, leveraging Alibaba’s e-commerce ecosystem. By the end of 2024, it had processed over $300 billion in cumulative transaction volume globally, serving more than one million merchants.
Tencent News "Qianwang" learned that Ant International may leverage WorldFirst as a use case to apply for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong—an application scenario closely watched by the HKMA.
Given the advantages of blockchain-enabled cross-border payments—low cost and high efficiency—stablecoins hold immense potential in this area. As a result, both “old money” and new entrants are actively seeking partnerships with companies operating in cross-border payments.
Tencent News "Qianwang" learned that numerous cross-border payment firms have recently been engaging with local Hong Kong conglomerates to jointly apply for stablecoin licenses.
According to incomplete estimates, dozens of teams in Hong Kong have already begun assembling to pursue stablecoin license applications.
Racing for a Trillion-Dollar Stablecoin Market
Whether Hong Kong’s crypto industry will truly take off this time remains to be seen. Some pessimistic observers worry this might again turn out to be “much thunder, little rain.”
This skepticism stems from the fact that despite over three years of active government involvement in the “digital currency” sector, large-scale industry growth has yet to materialize, and most crypto businesses in Hong Kong have not achieved financial sustainability.
As early as 2022, amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic shocks, the Hong Kong government began exploring new avenues and decided to engage with the Web3.0 industry from a compliance-focused perspective. It then issued the Policy Statement on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong (commonly known as “Declaration 1.0”). Overnight, Hong Kong became a global crypto hub, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin attending local forums, creating a “sold-out” phenomenon.
Following this, the government introduced compliant licensing for virtual asset funds and exchanges, and allowed spot Bitcoin ETFs to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
Yet, progress on these fronts has been gradual. Three years later, while many institutions have obtained virtual asset management licenses, only a few have launched actual products. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued 11 virtual asset exchange licenses over the past three years—but most of these exchanges continue to operate at a loss, including the flagship exchange under Hashkey Group, whose core revenue remains weak.
“Crypto products are tough to make compliant, whether funds or exchanges,” lamented some industry insiders. Even major exchanges like OKX, after extensive discussions with Hong Kong regulators, ultimately abandoned their licensing applications.
“But this time is completely different—it’s historic,” said a business executive at Hashkey Exchange in an interview with Tencent News "Qianwang." The launch of the Hong Kong Digital Asset Development Policy Declaration 2.0 (“Declaration 2.0”) and the Stablecoin Ordinance signifies a true integration between crypto and traditional finance and industries. Hashkey Group Chairman Xiao Feng has repeatedly emphasized that the implementation of “Declaration 2.0” and the Stablecoin Ordinance means Hong Kong aims not just to develop Web3.0, but to genuinely connect it with traditional finance.
On June 20, the Hong Kong government unveiled “Declaration 2.0,” establishing the LEAP framework—an acronym for: Legal and regulatory streamlining, Expanding the suite of tokenised products, Advancing use cases and cross-sectoral collaboration, People and partnership development.
Under this framework, the government aims to drive compliant, scalable, and global development of digital assets, including streamlining regulations, clarifying stablecoin licensing mechanisms, promoting real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and offering tax incentives for tokenized ETFs and digital asset funds.
Previously, initiatives such as virtual asset exchanges, fund management, and spot ETFs were limited to blockchain-native assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, with no real linkage to traditional systems.
Now, with “Declaration 2.0” and the Stablecoin Ordinance, Hong Kong is transitioning from a crypto “testing ground” to genuine industrial development.
Multiple individuals involved in HKEX licensing and tokenized product launches told Tencent News "Qianwang" that the government’s current resolve is stronger than ever, marked by three key shifts: regulating stablecoins, prioritizing RWA tokenization as a core industry, and granting tax exemptions for tokenized ETFs and digital asset funds.
For the first time, stablecoins and RWA-based tokenized products can now directly connect with the real economy—enabling bidirectional flow between crypto and traditional sectors.
“The outlook for stablecoins is highly promising—they could reshape the global monetary system, and the market is growing fast,” said an industry expert focused on stablecoins, who is also preparing for a Hong Kong stablecoin license application.
Earlier, on May 19, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, officially incorporating dollar-backed stablecoins into the “digital dollar” system—one reason behind the market excitement, given that most stablecoins today are pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Data from crypto analytics platform OKG Research shows the global stablecoin market is expanding rapidly and expected to grow further in coming years. In Q1 2025, on-chain settlement volume for stablecoins exceeded $3.7 trillion, with annualized transaction volume projected to surpass $9.8 trillion. Stablecoin market capitalization has reached nearly $250 billion—over 22 times growth in five years.
OKG Research projects that with accelerating global regulation, the global stablecoin supply could reach $3 trillion by 2030, with annual transaction volume exceeding $100 trillion. Under optimistic assumptions, the same targets are forecasted.
In the payment use cases particularly valued by Hong Kong authorities, OKG Research reported that in 2024, stablecoin-based payment settlements hit $50.8 billion, accounting for 7.3% of the global personal cross-border remittance market, with annual growth exceeding 60% for two consecutive years.
Several industry sources revealed that the final number of stablecoin licenses granted by Hong Kong may not exceed 10. “Many applicants will ultimately be left behind.” Based on prior experience with virtual asset exchange applications, setting up a compliant stablecoin operation in Hong Kong entails annual expenses of at least HK$200 million. Even after obtaining a license, it may take another one to two years to achieve financial breakeven.
This implies that teams aiming to secure a license in the first batch must prepare initial investments of HK$200–400 million.
Although dozens of teams are rushing into the race, securing a Hong Kong stablecoin license remains extremely challenging. Based on past approval timelines, the first list of licensed institutions may not emerge until as late as December 2025.
Time is running out—the window for new entrants and “old money” to gain an early lead is less than six months away.
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