Hong Kong's Stablecoin Gold Rush: A Carnival of Capital and a Trial of Value

Written by: Oliver, Mars Finance

On July 9, 2025, the Hong Kong stock market was enveloped in a bizarre atmosphere of extremes. On the previous trading day, Jin Yong Investment (01328.HK) was like a wild horse galloping free, with its stock price soaring from less than HKD 2 to HKD 15, a surge of over 6 times, pushing its market cap past the HKD 10 billion mark due to a memorandum of cooperation on "stablecoins". However, just 24 hours later, the dazzling fireworks turned into a cold waterfall, with the stock price plunging over 40%, trapping countless latecomers at the peak.

This thrilling capital roller coaster, like a thunderclap, has exploded the noisy curtain of Hong Kong's "stablecoin concept." It is not only a classic case of speculation and bubbles but also a prism that reflects the desires, anxieties, and confusion of capital under the grand narrative of Hong Kong's move toward becoming a global Web3 hub. When everyone focuses on the stablecoin license that is claimed to be in "single digits," a deeper question emerges: in this "gold rush" meticulously designed by regulatory agencies, who are the real players? Who are the speculators swept along by the tide?

The map of regulation and the gold of "licenses"

To understand this frenzy, one must first comprehend the carefully crafted "treasure map" in the hands of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). At the core of this map is the "sandbox" plan for stablecoin issuers and the future formal license that is hard to come by.

Unlike the ambiguous or hostile attitudes towards cryptocurrencies in many regions around the world, Hong Kong has chosen to embrace a path of proactive engagement alongside strict regulation. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, has already signaled to the market that the future issuance of stablecoin licenses will be in "single digits." This seemingly casual remark sounds like an announcement of a limited auction for top-tier resources in the capital market. At this moment, licenses have become the new "oil," serving as a ticket to enter the future digital financial world, and their scarcity itself constitutes an unparalleled value.

The "sandbox" program of the Monetary Authority is the first hurdle to treasure. It is not an open selection that anyone can participate in, but an invitation-only competition limited to elites. The first three groups of finalists announced in July 2025 reveal the regulators' clear vision for the future stablecoin ecosystem:

JD Coin Chain Technology: Behind it is China's e-commerce and supply chain finance giant JD, targeting the huge potential of stablecoins in the real economy, especially in the fields of cross-border trade and payments.

Yuan Coin Innovative Technology: Its shareholder background is associated with ZhongAn Online, a leading internet insurance company in China, pointing to innovative scenarios in fintech and inclusive finance.

Standard Chartered Bank, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecom's cross-industry alliance: This can be described as a "king bomb" combination, gathering the compliance experience of international banks, the ecological network of top global Web3 gaming companies, and the user base of local telecommunications giants.

It is not difficult to see that the "gold diggers" sought by regulators are those "regular troops" who hold real application scenarios, possess strong capital strength, and have a solid compliance foundation. They are expected to truly use stablecoins as a tool to address the pain points of the real economy, rather than merely creating a speculative chip detached from reality.

The Panoramic View of Gold Diggers

Under the guidance of this official map, various players in the Hong Kong stock market are beginning to showcase a splendid array of characters. They can be roughly divided into three categories: "franchise operators" holding official licenses, "shovel sellers" providing services around the gold rush, and "wildcat explorers" trying to find shortcuts outside the map.

The term "franchisee" undoubtedly refers to companies like ZhongAn Online (06060.HK) and JD Group (9618.HK) that are directly associated with sandbox participants. They are the most prominent "seed players" in the market, and their value is deeply tied to whether the sandbox can successfully "go live" and achieve commercialization. ZhongAn Online's layout is particularly far-reaching, as its virtual bank "ZhongAn Bank" has even begun providing reserve services for stablecoins, which marks its transition from a mere "concept stock" to a core infrastructure provider for the future stablecoin ecosystem.

"Shovel sellers" refer to licensed institutions like OSL Group (00863.HK) and Victory Securities (08540.HK). As one of Hong Kong's first licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATP), OSL's business is the "water, electricity, and coal" of the entire ecosystem. Regardless of who ultimately obtains the stablecoin license, trading and circulation must occur on compliant platforms. OSL recently announced the acquisition of Canadian crypto payment company Banxa, further highlighting its ambition to build a global compliant digital asset network. The business model of such companies is clearer and the risks are relatively lower, as they steadily sell shovels and jeans during the gold rush.

And Jinyong Investment has become the most vivid footnote of the "wildcat explorer." Before the announcement in July, the company's main business had nothing to do with virtual assets. What it relied on was a non-binding memorandum of cooperation signed with a company called AnchorX. However, the market's frenzy selectively ignored two fatal details: first, the memorandum is not legally binding, and the cooperation could fall apart at any time; second, the core license of its partner AnchorX is granted by the financial regulatory authority of Kazakhstan, which is almost equivalent to a scrap of paper within the regulatory framework of Hong Kong.

The story of Jinyong Investment is a typical tragedy of "gold mining with the wrong map." It attempted to bypass the strict path defined by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, hoping for a story of "offshore RMB stablecoins" that is full of imagination but lacks any compliance foundation. The brief market hype stemmed from a blind worship of the term "stablecoin" and a collective anxiety of fear of missing out (FOMO). When the tide receded, and investors finally saw through the illusions of its partnerships and the fragility of its qualifications, the collapse of the stock price became inevitable.

After the carnival, the trial of value

The farce of Jin Yong Investment is less of a scandal and more of an expensive market education. It reveals a simple truth to all participants in the most extreme way: in Hong Kong, a Web3 narrative that is detached from the word "compliance" is ultimately a castle in the air.

This turmoil has also forced the market to think more deeply. The pursuit of new narratives by capital is eternal, especially in a market environment lacking growth highlights, where "stablecoins" and "Web3" serve as a shot in the arm. However, when narratives detach from fundamental value, they inevitably evolve into a dangerous game of passing the parcel.

The real value lies beneath the noise. When financial giants like Standard Chartered Bank are willing to partner with Web3 newcomers like Animoca Brands to explore the use of stablecoins for in-game payments and digital collectible transactions; when JD.com attempts to use stablecoins to solve cross-border settlement efficiency issues in its vast supply chain network — this is the most exciting part of the Hong Kong stablecoin story. It signifies that digital assets are moving from the fringe to the mainstream, from speculation to application.

For Hong Kong, this experiment led by the regulatory authorities is not ultimately aimed at fostering a few wildly fluctuating "demon stocks." The real goal is to establish a globally leading and trustworthy stablecoin ecosystem by introducing players with the highest standards and strongest capabilities, thereby consolidating its position as an international financial center and gaining an advantage in the upcoming Web3 wave that concerns the future.

The stock price K-line chart of Jinyong Investment will be remembered as an interesting footnote in the history of Hong Kong finance. It marks the end of an era—the end of a wild phase that could be recklessly speculated on based solely on concepts and announcements. A new era is beginning, in which true "gold" does not belong to the best storytellers, but to those builders who can work diligently, constructing real value shovel by shovel on the map of regulation. The frenzy of the gold rush has come to an end, but the trial of value has just begun.