Hong Kong lists Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands as stablecoin sandbox participants

Hong Kong’s financial regulator has unveiled a list of its stablecoin issuer sandbox participants, including Standard Chartered and Animoca Brands.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has announced the list of participants of the stablecoin sandbox, who can already start their experiments with issuing digital currencies backed by fiat currencies.

In an announcement on Thursday, HKMA listed JD.com’s subsidiary JINGDONG Coinlink Technology Hong Kong, RD InnoTech, and a collaboration involving Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications among the sandbox participants.

A person familiar with the matter told crypto.news that the coalition plans to leverage the institutional digital asset custody capabilities of Zodia Custody, partially owned by Standard Chartered.

The HKMA says the aforementioned companies managed to demonstrate “genuine interest in developing a stablecoin issuance business in Hong Kong with a reasonable business plan,” adding that their sandbox pilots “would be conducted within a limited scope and in a risk-controllable manner.”

The regulator highlighted that during the sandbox piloting, its members “will not handle the general public’s funds at the initial stage, and will not solicit funding from the public or offer any products associated with the sandbox.”

This announcement follows Hong Kong’s disclosure that it received over 100 submissions from market participants endorsing the establishment of a stablecoin licensing regime. As crypto.news reported, a “vast majority” of the 108 respondents to a public consultation agreed on the need for regulatory oversight as virtual assets continue to evolve. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue highlighted the potential for a well-regulated environment to foster the sustainable and responsible growth of the stablecoin ecosystem in Hong Kong.