RegulationStablecoin
|3 min ReadBeijing Orders Chinese Tech Giants to Halt Hong Kong Stablecoin Plans
Maya Chen
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
Regulators Step In
Beijing has moved to stop some of China’s biggest tech companies from launching stablecoins in Hong Kong, according to a Financial Times report citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Ant Group — the Alibaba affiliate behind Alipay — and online retailer JD.com were among firms pushing to issue yuan-pegged stablecoins in the city. Both had urged the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to approve pilot launches just before Hong Kong’s new stablecoin licensing regime took effect.
Those plans are now on hold. Officials from the PBoC and the Cyberspace Administration of China reportedly told the firms not to proceed, reflecting growing concern in Beijing about privately issued digital currencies.
Pushback Against Private Money
Five sources told the Financial Times that Chinese regulators view privately run stablecoins as a direct challenge to the e-CNY, the central bank’s own digital currency. The e-CNY has struggled to gain traction with users, and authorities fear competition could undermine its rollout.
PBoC governor Zhou Xiaochuan voiced explicit warnings at a closed-door financial forum in late August. “Central banks currently have at least two concerns,” Zhou said. “First, excessive money issuance — issuing stablecoins without full reserves. Second, high leverage — the multiplier effect created by post-issuance operations.”
He added that while the U.S. GENIUS Act and Hong Kong’s new Stablecoin Ordinance address these issues, “control remains significantly insufficient.”
Hong Kong’s Ambitions Meet Mainland Resistance
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said in September that 77 companies had expressed interest in stablecoin licenses, including Ant Group and JD.com. Hong Kong has positioned itself as a controlled testing ground for crypto innovation — a “regulatory sandbox” meant to attract digital-finance firms.
But mainland regulators are tightening oversight. Beijing has also asked top brokerages to slow or pause real-world asset tokenization projects in Hong Kong and to stop publishing research favorable to stablecoins.
The message is clear: while Hong Kong experiments with crypto regulation, Beijing wants to ensure the digital yuan remains the only officially sanctioned form of Chinese digital money.
For Ant Group, JD.com, and other tech giants hoping to issue stablecoins, that means waiting — and watching — as the central bank reasserts control over the future of digital currency in China.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.