China Blocks Major Tech Giants from Hong Kong Stablecoin Plans

Chinese regulators have intervened to halt stablecoin initiatives by two of the country's largest technology firms, ANT Group and JD.com. The People's Bank of China and the Cyberspace Administration of China issued direct orders to freeze these projects, undermining Hong Kong's ambitions to establish itself as a global digital finance hub.

The MOVE reflects Beijing's broader concerns over private sector involvement in currency issuance. "The real regulatory concern is, who has the ultimate right of coinage—the central bank or any private companies on the market?" a source familiar with the matter noted. This intervention comes despite both companies having publicly committed to Hong Kong's stablecoin program earlier this year.

Ant Group, affiliated with Alibaba, had announced its participation in June. JD.com had gone further, trademarking potential stablecoin names and outlining global licensing ambitions. Founder Richard Liu had projected the technology could reduce payment costs by 90%, positioning it as a transformative financial innovation.