On July 8, PANews reported that, according to First Financial News, reporters learned from industry insiders that stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong are relatively scarce and in high demand, with expectations that the licenses will be in single digits. However, besides the officially announced companies like JD.com, Standard Chartered, and Yuanbi, over 40 enterprises are preparing to submit applications. Feedback from law firms indicates that there are dozens of interested applicants, currently in the consultation or material preparation stage, making the competition extremely fierce. The applying institutions are primarily China's largest financial institutions and internet companies, while some small enterprises hoping to apply have a bleak outlook.
Against this backdrop, expectations for stablecoins to reconstruct the global monetary system are heating up. Qiao Yide, vice president and secretary of the Shanghai Development Research Foundation, told First Financial News that the efficiency of cross-border payments that stablecoins can enhance may not be as high as everyone expects. Research indicates that the actual cost might be close to 1%, rather than the extremely low levels advertised. At the same time, stablecoins are anchored to sovereign currencies, essentially extending and spreading the functions of fiat currencies, and cannot overturn the system they rely on for existence. Despite the current market being bustling, with major institutions scrambling to enter, and even the emergence of the viewpoint that stablecoins will reconstruct and disrupt the international monetary system, industry insiders believe this undoubtedly exaggerates the impact of stablecoins.