As the global stablecoin competition heats up, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com and Alibaba's fintech giant Ant Group are reportedly actively lobbying the People's Bank of China (PBoC) to seek authorization to issue an 'offshore RMB' stablecoin in Hong Kong to counter the growing influence of dollar stablecoins.
(Reuters) cited several informed sources stating that these two companies proposed that China should allow the issuance of stablecoins linked to the offshore RMB in Hong Kong to expand the application and status of the RMB in the international payment system.
Informed sources indicate that JD.com has expressed its concerns in several closed-door meetings with senior officials at the People's Bank of China, arguing that China urgently needs an offshore RMB stablecoin as a tool to promote 'RMB internationalization.'
As the news broke, it coincided with the U.S. Congress actively promoting a stablecoin regulatory bill (GENIUS Act), which was voted through in the Senate last month and will be sent to the House for consideration later this month. U.S. President Donald Trump has also publicly stated that he expects Congress to complete the legislative process by the end of August.
In response to frequent actions from the U.S., the Chinese central bank has also continued to signal its readiness to reshape the international payment landscape. PBoC Governor Pan Gongsheng publicly stated last month that stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are accelerating the transformation of global payment infrastructure and announced the establishment of an 'e-CNY International Operations Center' in Shanghai to further enhance the global influence of the RMB.
In Hong Kong, the Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched a stablecoin issuer sandbox last year, allowing participants to test the stablecoin issuance process and business models within a controlled environment. The selected participants include Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, Hong Kong Telecom, JD Coinchain Technology (Hong Kong), and Yuan Coin Innovation Technology.
It is worth noting that Hong Kong's (Stablecoin Ordinance) will officially take effect on August 1, at which point the licensing system for stablecoin issuers will also be implemented. JD.com and Ant Group both intend to apply for licenses to issue Hong Kong dollar stablecoins.
"JD.com and Ant Group lobby the People's Bank of China to seek permission to issue an 'offshore RMB' stablecoin in Hong Kong" was first published on (Block Tech).