Wu said that the Hong Kong government stated in its reply to the Legislative Council that after the implementation of the Stablecoin Ordinance, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) received a total of 36 applications from institutions in the first phase, and has already issued stablecoin issuer licenses to two institutions in April this year. According to the current business plans of the two licensed issuers, regulated stablecoins in Hong Kong are expected to be launched as early as mid-year this year.

The HKMA is further communicating with the remaining applicants, but future licensing will maintain high thresholds, requiring assessments of application scenarios, business sustainability, risk management capabilities, and compliance. It also stated that even if licenses are issued later, the total number of licenses will remain very limited.