Original source: Xiao Sa lawyer
Recently, thanks to the release of positive regulatory signals, major companies have announced that they will enter the stable currency track. Overnight, this concept, which was once closely tied to cryptocurrency and often appeared in news about money laundering, cross-border cybercrime, etc., quickly became a new trend in the crypto industry and even the traditional financial industry, attracting many people.
But by coincidence, on June 22, 2025, under the joint promotion of the Peoples Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the cross-border payment channel was officially launched. The institutional barriers between Hong Kong and the mainland of China collapsed, and the reform of facilitating small transfers in seconds has made the people truly feel the benefits and convenience. Since the cross-border payment channel is so easy to use, do we still need stablecoins?
Today, the Sajie team will talk with partners in detail about the similarities and differences between stablecoins and traditional financial payment tools, and whether the two are competitive relationships.
1. Clarification of Two Concepts
First of all, what is a stablecoin? In the most popular language, a stablecoin is a cryptocurrency issued by a specific organization or individual, with a countrys legal currency as the underlying asset (value basis). Technically, it is not much different from cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH. It is better in that its price is open, transparent, stable and does not fluctuate. It can be used as a general equivalent in the crypto world as a payment tool or a value measurement tool. Therefore, partners can actually regard stablecoins as a special non-legal currency.
Secondly, what is Cross-border Payment Pass? In the most popular language, Cross-border Payment Pass refers to the combination of the interbank online payment settlement system (IBPS) in the Mainland and the Fast Payment System (FPS) in Hong Kong. The connection between the two can solve the problem of cross-regional payment of funds at the lowest cost. For example, as long as partners use Cross-border Payment Pass, they can directly transfer small amounts without converting RMB into Hong Kong dollars. Remittances that used to take half a day to arrive can now basically arrive in seconds, greatly reducing the cost of transactions and payments.
At present, according to the news from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, stablecoins are still in the testing phase, and no issuer has yet successfully stepped out of the sandbox and entered the world. In other words, compliant and regulated stablecoins are still in the early stages of development. On the other hand, Cross-border Payment Pass has already brought real convenience to the public, and many partners will be able to use it in the near future.
2. Stablecoin vs. Cross-Border Payment, are the two competitors?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions by partners in the SAJIE team recently. Although both are payment methods and payment tools at the practical level, they are fundamentally different, and their future development and application scenarios are also quite different.
From the perspective of essential attributes, as mentioned above, stablecoin is actually a general equivalent, a special non-legal currency; while cross-border payment is a cross-regional (mainland China and Hong Kong, China) convenient payment system developed based on the existing legal currency system. Therefore, to simply draw a conclusion, the two are not competitors, but they do overlap in application scenarios.
At present, the application scenarios of Cross-border Payment Pass are mainly as follows:
Domestic residents can remit funds to bank accounts in Hong Kong in RMB or in RMB or HKD, which is commonly known as the Southbound Facilitation Remittance Business;
For the Northbound Facilitation Remittance Business where Hong Kong residents remit money to their bank accounts in the Mainland, they can choose to initiate the remittance in Hong Kong dollars or RMB and receive the remittance in RMB;
Individuals and legal entities or institutions can choose bilateral local currency or bilateral RMB remittances, commonly known as two-way cross-border RMB payment business, for example, Mr. Wang wants to pay tuition for his son who is studying at the University of Hong Kong.
The Sajie team specifically reminds that there is a limit on remittances at present, and only small remittances can be processed. For the situation from Hong Kong to the mainland, the upper limit of remittances per person per day in each bank is HK$10,000, and the upper limit of remittances per year in each bank is HK$200,000; for the mainland to Hong Kong, the current individual annual foreign exchange purchase facilitation quota of US$50,000 is calculated (that is, it is included in the foreign exchange control quota for restrictions).
As for stablecoins, the three companies in the Hong Kong regulatory sandbox have not disclosed much information, and the application scenarios of each company are also different. Taking the Animoca Brands + Standard Chartered Bank + Hong Kong Telecom as an example, it has entered the late stage of sandbox testing and mainly issues stablecoins anchored to the Hong Kong dollar.
3. Some latest news and policy judgments on the application for Hong Kong stablecoin license
Since the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions Stablecoin Ordinance was implemented and will take effect on August 1, the Sajie team has received a lot of inquiries about how to apply for a license. In fact, partners dont have to panic. Although the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will begin accepting license applications after August 1, this time the license is not first come first served, but reliable ones get it.
First of all, the number of licenses to be granted this time is extremely small, probably only in the single digit. The HKMA has given a clear regulatory thinking and positioning: stablecoins are not tools for investment or speculation, but one of the payment tools using blockchain technology (positioned as financial infrastructure), and there is no room for appreciation. In other words, whether a license can be issued depends on whether the applicant has the ability and intention to invest in infrastructure construction on a large scale in the long term, and whether it can provide sufficiently reliable application scenarios to impress the HKMA.
Secondly, the three entities that have entered the sandbox are undoubtedly ahead, but this does not mean that entering the sandbox will be a prerequisite for obtaining a license in the future, nor does it mean that participating institutions that have entered the sandbox will necessarily obtain a license.
In summary, the opportunity given by the times may only come once, and the Sajie team does not recommend rushing ahead without adequate preparation. Sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood. The issuance of stablecoin licenses will inevitably go through a long inspection cycle. As long as it is reliable enough, it is not impossible to be the last to arrive first.
4. Final Thoughts
Many partners are asking, what are the specific conditions for applying for a stablecoin license? What are the specific procedures? In fact, the HKMA has not given a clear guide at present. According to the team of Sister Sa, the guiding document is still in the consultation cycle, so partners can pay more attention to it.
So, if you want to prepare in advance at this stage, are there any reference standards? Of course there are. The regulatory authorities in Hong Kong have made it clear that the model of Hong Kongs stablecoin regulatory framework comes from the part about stablecoins in the Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-Asset Activities issued by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) under the G20 in 2023. Therefore, if partners want to prepare in advance at this stage, it is recommended to refer to this specification to promote specific compliance work.
