PBoC and CAC order Ant Group and JD.com to halt Hong Kong stablecoin issuance, fearing loss of control over money supply.
China forces Ant Group and JD.com to halt Hong Kong stablecoin issuance plans
Chinese tech giants Ant Group and JD.com have temporarily halted their plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong after being ordered by central authorities in Beijing.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) have ordered the companies to suspend all initiatives related to private digital currencies, the Financial Times reported.
Beijing fears losing monopoly control over money
According to a source familiar with the discussions, the main reason for the pause is “the issue of monetary sovereignty.”
“Who has the ultimate right to mint money, the central bank or private companies?” the FT source explained.
Ant Group and JD.com had previously considered participating in a stablecoin pilot program in Hong Kong or launching tokenized financial products such as digital bonds.
Hong Kong experiment stalled
Hong Kong began accepting applications from potential stablecoin issuers in August, hoping to become a financial hub for tokenized assets in the region. Beijing initially supported the initiative as a way to promote yuan-pegged stablecoins to strengthen the currency’s international role. But optimism quickly faded.
Ye Zhiheng, executive director of the intermediary division at Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), said the new rules governing stablecoins increased the risks of fraud.
Hong Kong’s stablecoin market has suffered double-digit losses since the regulation came into effect on August 1, increasing pressure from mainland authorities.
Tokenization restrictions
Last month, China’s Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the suspension of real asset (RWA) tokenization programs among brokers operating in Hong Kong, signaling Beijing’s growing concern over the expansion of offshore crypto initiatives.
Despite this, interest in tokenization in China is growing. Last week, China Merchants Bank’s subsidiary CMB International Asset Management tokenized its $3.8 billion money market fund on the BNB Chain blockchain.
Analysts: Beijing wants to keep digital currencies under full control
According to analysts, Beijing is keen to avoid the emergence of private currency systems that could compete with the central bank’s official digital currency (e-CNY).
The halt to the Ant Group and JD.com initiatives demonstrates that China is not ready to cede monetary control even within Hong Kong, which formally has its own financial autonomy.
“For China, the digital yuan is not just a technological innovation, but a tool for geo-economic influence. Private stablecoins put that at risk,” said Hong Kong financial analyst Lawrence Chan.
Related: Japan’s three largest banks to launch yen stablecoin
