Ant Group, JD.com suspend Hong Kong stablecoin plans after Beijing’s directive

Efforts to launch stablecoins targeting the Hong Kong market have come to a standstill as regulators in Beijing stepped in to halt private sector involvement, citing concerns over monetary sovereignty and competition with the state-backed digital yuan.

Chinese tech giants, including Ant Group and JD.com, have paused their stablecoin initiatives in response to directives from mainland authorities, according to a recent Financial Times report, citing five people familiar with the matter. 

The directive came from both the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), who instructed the firms not to move ahead with issuing currency-like digital assets through Hong Kong’s new stablecoin licensing framework.

Why are Beijing regulators concerned?

The idea of allowing private companies to issue digital tokens tied to fiat currencies has raised concerns among Beijing’s regulators, who view such initiatives as encroaching on the fundamental responsibilities of the state in managing sovereign money.

At the heart of their concerns lies a fundamental question of control: who holds the right to issue money in a modern, digital economy?

China’s central bank is reportedly concerned over stablecoins potentially undermining capital supervision and creating confusion in the financial system, particularly as China continues to roll out its own central bank digital currency, the e-CNY.

The issuance of stablecoins by private actors is said to have been viewed as a potential threat to China’s long-term monetary agenda, especially if those coins gained traction for cross-border settlements or domestic use.

The central bank is said to be particularly wary of overlapping functions between private stablecoins and the e-CNY, which Beijing has positioned as the cornerstone of its future payments infrastructure. 

Regulators have also cautioned that stablecoins could be misused for speculative trading and illicit financial activities.

Stablecoin appetite in Hong Kong surges

Beijing’s move followed a phase where Hong Kong expressed support for digital asset initiatives.

Just days before the Financial Times report, the Hong Kong Legislative Council had issued a special bulletin outlining its ongoing fintech strategy, including a section dedicated to stablecoins.

The council suggested that stablecoins could improve cross-border trade settlement and payment efficiency, particularly for yuan-denominated instruments.

The publication reaffirmed Hong Kong’s ambition to serve as a global digital asset hub and highlighted several legislative and regulatory developments over the past year, including the implementation of the Stablecoin Ordinance on August 1. 

Since the ordinance took effect, several proposals have emerged to amend and expand the framework to accommodate a broader range of stablecoin issuers, including state-owned enterprises.

Interest from mainland entities surged in the wake of the new framework.

Reports indicate that major Chinese institutions such as China National Petroleum Corporation and the Bank of China had considered applying for stablecoin licenses through Hong Kong. 

PetroChina, in particular, was looking into yuan-pegged stablecoins for settling cross-border energy transactions.

However, the latest move by Beijing casts uncertainty over whether those applications will progress.

Both Ant Group and JD.com had already taken preliminary steps, with Ant’s international division exploring partnerships with foreign stablecoin firms, including a tie-up with Circle in July to facilitate cross-border payments using USDC. 

JD.com had also been evaluating global stablecoin licenses to cut international settlement costs.

However, the future of those initiatives now remains in regulatory limbo.

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