Just-In: Hong Kong Soon To Launch Its CBDC

The global adoption of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is on the surge amid the increasing volatility in the crypto market. However, Hong Kong has decided to add to this list of nations utilizing CBDC.

Hong Kong lays down regulation for CBDC

As per reports, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is carrying out preparations for a roll out of the “digital Hong Kong dollar”. Lee Ka Chiu John, Chief Executive of HKSAR informed that he is studying the market’s view on regulating stablecoin. With this, the authority has started preparatory work for the Digital HKD.

He added that the Government has submitted a draft proposal in order to introduce a statutory licensing regime for virtual assets. However, the Monetary Authority is specifically deployed to attain knowledge from the market’s perspective on the regulation of stablecoins.

This is done in order to keep the regulations in line with international regulatory recommendations. However, the rules are being made keeping local circumstances in mind.

The Monetary Authority of Hong Kong has begun preparatory work on the Digital Hong Kong Dollar. While the authority is also working with the Mainland institution to expand the testing.

Central bank backed token in demand over globe

Earlier, Coingape reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a report which mentions that almost 100 countries around the globe have indicated their interest in CBDC. However, the central bank backed currencies are either in the research or development stage.

As of now, Nigeria and the Bahamas are the only two countries that have fully launched their CBDC. Till July 2022, 15 countries’ CBDC are in the pilot stage. While 15 more are currently in the Proof of concept stage. However, around 65 nations are still in the research phase.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared that it will also begin with the pilot launch of its e-rupee.