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Recently, two large Chinese tech companies—Ant Group and JD.com—announced the suspension of their plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong.
According to the Financial Times, this decision is related to intervention by Beijing's regulatory authorities.
A stablecoin is a type of digital currency pegged to fiat currencies like the Chinese yuan or the US dollar.
It allows people to trade more conveniently online.
However, the Chinese government is concerned that if private companies issue such currencies, it might affect the central bank's control over the financial system.
A source said: 'The core issue is who has the authority to create money—the central bank or enterprises.'
Hong Kong originally hoped to become Asia's stablecoin hub.
In August this year, the local government introduced a new licensing system to encourage companies to issue stablecoins in a regulated environment.
However, as regulatory pressure increased, many companies reported losses.
Some analysts believe Beijing wants to prevent financial innovation from getting out of control, especially in digital currencies.
Besides stablecoins, Beijing recently also asked Hong Kong financial institutions to suspend projects involving 'tokenized assets.'
Tokenization is the process of turning real-world assets, such as funds or bonds, into digital assets that can be traded online using blockchain technology.
This new technology is becoming increasingly popular in Hong Kong but has also raised concerns among regulators.
Experts point out that these measures show Beijing's desire to more strictly supervise financial innovation and avoid competition with the digital yuan plan.
For Ant Group and JD.com, this suspension is a setback; and for Hong Kong, it may also affect its plan to become an international digital financial center.
In the future, whether Hong Kong can continue to promote a regulated stablecoin market remains to be seen.