MAROKO133 Eksklusif crypto: Hong Kong Set to Approve First Stablecoin Licenses in March —

📌 MAROKO133 Eksklusif crypto: Hong Kong Set to Approve First Stablecoin Licenses i

The Hong Kong financial regulator (HKMA) is about to approve the first license for a stablecoin issuer in March, as shown by a report by Reuters.

The development occurs following a period of regulatory review and the unveiling of one of the most comprehensive stablecoin frameworks in the world, which came into force in August last year.

At a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue said that the review process is almost finished, adding that only a very small number of applicants will be approved at first.

Yue added that assessments are focusing on core areas such as stablecoin use cases, reserve backing, risk management, and anti-money laundering controls.

Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Era Begins Slowly as Regulators Tighten the Bar

As of early February, no stablecoin issuer has yet been approved under Hong Kong’s new regime.

The HKMA has indicated that it is assessing 36 applications in the first round, though the wider industry interest had more than 40 prospective applicants at one point.

The regulator has so far been cautious and in July 2025 introduced a public registry to monitor licensed issuers, but the registry is currently empty.

The licensing regime implemented in August covers all issuers of fiat-referenced stablecoins in Hong Kong, as well as foreign issuers of tokens pegged to the Hong Kong dollar.

The rules permit licensed issuers to issue, administer, and redeem stablecoins, as long as they have full 1:1 reserve support of high-quality, liquid assets under trust arrangements with approved custodians.

Issuers must honor redemption requests at par value within one business day and are prohibited from paying interest to stablecoin holders.

Governance and compliance are also given great focus by the regime.

According to the rules, issuers should be locally incorporated or authorized organizations that have strong internal controls and have boards that have independent directors with specific compliance functions.

They must perform due diligence of customers, adopt the use of wallets, and adhere to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements.

HKMA has a wide range of supervisory authority and can add further terms to the license, introduce managers, or cancel the license in case of breach of requirements.

Hong Kong Sandbox Draws Banks, Tech Giants, and Web3 Firms

A number of high-profile companies have already become the major participants by applying to the regulatory sandbox of the HKMA.

These include a joint venture between Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong arm, Animoca Brands, and telecoms provider HKT, operating under the name Anchorpoint Financial.

Ant Group’s digital technology unit has confirmed it is pursuing a license, while Bank of China Hong Kong has been reported as an applicant.

HSBC and ICBC also signaled their intention to apply last year, although the HKMA has not confirmed the identities of any applicants and has warned that early approvals should not be seen as endorsements of specific business models.

The stablecoin rollout sits within a broader regulatory and strategic push by Hong Kong to develop a full digital asset stack.

The city already operates a licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms under the Securities and Futures Commission, with 11 exchanges approved so far, including OSL, HashKey, and Bullish.

Government officials have repeatedly framed stablecoins as infrastructure rather than speculative products.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kong’s approach to crypto regulation is intended to be “responsible and sustainable,” describing digital finance as a strategic growth pillar for the city.

At the same time, industry groups have cautioned that rising compliance costs could slow institutional participation if rules become overly restrictive.

The post Hong Kong Set to Approve First Stablecoin Licenses in March — Who’s In? appeared first on Cryptonews.

🔗 Sumber: cryptonews.com

📌 MAROKO133 Eksklusif crypto: Blockstream, Michael Saylor Named in Newly Unsealed

Unsealed records by the U.S. Department of Justice related to Jeffrey Epstein now contain mentions of Blockstream executives and a different email that talks about a charity contribution made by MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor.

The files, which have been published as part of a wider transparency project, have sparked public reaction regarding the names mentioned within them.

The latest batch includes emails, travel records, and correspondence involving a wide range of figures in finance, politics, academia, and technology.

The DOJ has stressed that the appearance of a person’s name in the documents does not, on its own, indicate wrongdoing.

Epstein Files Surface Emails Linked to Blockstream’s 2014 Fundraise

Among the newly surfaced records is a July 2014 email exchange in which Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill discussed the company’s oversubscribed $18 million seed round with Epstein and Ito.

In the message, Hill wrote that the round was “10x oversubscribed” and suggested increasing an allocation from $50,000 to $500,000. Adam Back was included in the email thread.

On X, Back claimed that in 2014, Blockstream participated in a seed-round investor roadshow coffee at which Joi Ito, then the director of the MIT Media Lab, was introduced to the company.

Through that connection, Blockstream later met Epstein, who was described at the time as a limited partner in an investment fund associated with Ito.

Co-founder and CEO of Blockstream, Adam Back, responded to the documents, admitting that his company has no continuing or material relationship with Epstein.

That fund went on to take a minority stake in Blockstream, but Back said it later divested its shares due to potential conflicts of interest and other concerns.

Files Show Saylor Mentioned in Pre-Bitcoin Charity Correspondence

Michael Saylor’s name appears in a different context within the files.

An email dated May 8, 2010, sent by Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal, detailed arrangements for the Robin Hood Foundation’s annual gala and related Cannes social events.

The message noted that Michael Saylor donated $25,000 to a charity initiative, which granted him access to attend the events and potentially meet members of an exclusive social circle.

However, Siegal characterized Saylor as socially awkward, describing him as difficult to engage with and lacking awareness of basic social norms.

The message predates Saylor’s later prominence as one of Bitcoin’s most vocal corporate advocates and does not mention cryptocurrency.

Saylor only began acquiring Bitcoin for MicroStrategy in 2020, years after the correspondence cited in the Epstein materials.

Other unsealed documents reference travel arrangements involving Hill and Back, including bookings connected to St. Thomas, an island near Epstein’s private property.

The documents have also emphasized Epstein’s broader interest in cryptocurrency during Bitcoin’s formative years.

Email communications reveal him discussing with one of the biggest tech investors, Peter Thiel, how to define Bitcoin and whether it was more of a store of value, a currency, or a technological architecture.

Individual correspondence suggests that Epstein kept a close eye on the debates in the crypto ecosystem and shared his views on rival blockchain projects.

In 2016, he also offered suggestions connected with digital currencies in the Middle East, such as a Sharia-compliant type based on the technology of Bitcoin.

Other Prominent Figures, Social and Email Links to Epstein Records

Other notable names mentioned throughout the documents are former director of MIT Media Lab Joi Ito, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and Kevin Warsh, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump to the role of Federal Reserve chair.