Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Applications for a basket of fiat-pegged stablecoins are available, with the first license likely to be issued early next year

According to a July 30th report from PANews and the National Business Daily, Hong Kong Monetary Authority Deputy Chief Executive Chan Wai-min stated at a technical briefing on the regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers that the number of stablecoin issuer licenses to be issued in the first phase is uncertain and will depend on the quality of the application materials submitted by the applicants. The first stablecoin issuer license is expected to be issued early next year, and he emphasized that "the threshold for passing the examination is very high." Chan also stated that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority maintains an open approach regarding fiat currencies. Stablecoin issuers can apply for a license pegged to a specific fiat currency or to a basket of fiat currencies. The key is to indicate the fiat currency in the application.