Circle Eyes the East: Crypto Firm Turns Focus to Asia Amid Hong Kong’s Regulatory Revamp

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American digital currency titan, Circle Internet Financial Ltd., is setting its sights on the buzzing cryptocurrency markets of Asia. The CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire, has been keeping a keen eye on Hong Kong’s evolving crypto regulations as the territory seeks to establish itself as a vital hub for digital assets and stablecoins.

Hong Kong: An Emerging Crypto Powerhouse

“Hong Kong is looking to establish itself as a significant centre for digital assets markets and for stablecoins. We are paying very close attention to that,” said Allaire in a conversation with Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China.

On June 1, Hong Kong rolled out a new set of crypto regulations, capturing the attention of digital asset firms around the globe. Amid a crackdown on cryptocurrency in the US, companies are in the hunt for new, secure, and suitable destinations for their operations. While Hong Kong is yet to formulate rules governing stablecoins, it’s clear that the territory’s pivot toward becoming a digital-asset hub has quiet backing from Beijing, despite mainland China’s current crypto trading ban.

Circle’s Eastern Expansion: Singapore License Paves the Way

The interest in Hong Kong comes in the wake of Circle obtaining a major payments institution license in Singapore. This license enables the firm to provide digital payment token services, as well as domestic and cross-border money transfer services in the city-state. As the issuer of USD Coin, the world’s second-largest stablecoin, Circle sees Asia as “a huge area of focus.”

The Singapore license will help Circle to distribute its USD Coin “more fully in the region,” Allaire noted.

Global Trends: The Crypto Landscape

The global landscape of digital assets is changing, with jurisdictions like Hong Kong and Dubai attracting companies, and Singapore planning to impose restrictions on retail investor participation. Meanwhile, the European Union, April, approved the most comprehensive digital-asset rules of any developed economy.

“There’s enormous demand for digital dollars in emerging markets and Asia is really at the center of that,” Allaire said, underlining the significant potential of the Asian market for Circle and the broader digital assets industry. The recent developments in Hong Kong may be a harbinger of how these markets could evolve in Greater China, he added.