Caixin: The stablecoin boom is cooling down, and Hong Kong may limit the first batch of stablecoin licenses to 3-4 companies.

On August 2, according to Caixin, from June to July this year, discussions about stablecoins reached a boiling point across the Pacific but then cooled down. Hong Kong may narrow the scope of its first batch of stablecoin licenses to three or four companies. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority realized in its communications with the Central Bank of China that under the framework of the regulatory memorandum, the main regulatory responsibilities and risks are concentrated in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Several Chinese-funded banks in Hong Kong and Chinese securities firms’ branches in Hong Kong are eager to participate in Hong Kong’s compliance stablecoin business, including Bank of China Hong Kong, Bank of Communications Hong Kong, China Construction Bank (Asia), Sinopac, and Guotai Junan International, involving stablecoin issuance, custody, and other businesses. In addition, an insider stated during an interview related to stablecoins that China currently does not have a globally influential public chain. Another insider suggested that the national-level backbone public chain should be led by state-owned enterprises, while the construction of industry-level public chains could open up to market competition.