On August 1, 2025, Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Regulation Ordinance officially comes into effect, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) beginning to accept applications for stablecoin issuance licenses. Stablecoins—particularly those denominated in Hong Kong dollars (HKD)—are moving beyond the realm of niche technological experimentation and entering the mainstream as enterprise-level payment instruments.
For cross-border e-commerce companies, this represents not merely a regulatory update but a structural opportunity of strategic significance.
From “Regulatory Grey Zone” to “Official Recognition”
The new ordinance outlines three critical regulatory mandates:
- Licensing Requirement: Any entity that issues a stablecoin publicly accessible and purporting to be pegged to fiat currency must apply for a license from the HKMA.
- Single-Currency Peg Only: Authorized stablecoins must be anchored to a single fiat currency (e.g., HKD). Pegging to commodities or asset baskets is strictly prohibited.
- Mandatory Auditing and Transparency: Issuers must regularly publish reserve attestations to prevent operational opacity and fund mismatches.
These provisions establish a robust compliance framework, laying the groundwork for broad enterprise adoption of stablecoins. Hong Kong is poised to become the first jurisdiction in Asia to implement a regulatory regime specifically for HKD stablecoins—integrating them into the region’s financial infrastructure and transforming them from peripheral tools into officially sanctioned monetary instruments.
What Are the Direct Advantages for Cross-Border E-Commerce?
1. T+0 Settlement and Zero FX Loss
Traditional HKD remittances often face several obstacles:
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Delayed and unpredictable SWIFT transfers
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Excessive intermediary bank fees and complex procedures
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Untraceable incoming payments for HK-based clients
HKD stablecoins support on-chain clearing and T+0 (same-day) settlement, offering faster, cheaper, and more transparent alternatives to traditional wire transfers. This is particularly advantageous for scenarios like:
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Payments from Hong Kong clients to suppliers
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Mainland Chinese sellers receiving cross-border payments
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Repatriation of funds from Southeast Asian and Western customers
2. Mitigation of Frozen Funds and Account Risks
Many international businesses have encountered the following:
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Frozen accounts on mainstream payment platforms
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Rejected SWIFT transfers due to tightening FX controls
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Non-interoperable multi-platform accounts
HKD stablecoins combined with compliant HKD accounts can serve as an intermediate settlement layer. Businesses can first settle using stablecoins and then transfer legally into traditional bank accounts—enhancing flexibility and ensuring legal fund channels.
3. A More Resilient Global Capital Inflow and Outflow Channel
Take the example of VelaFi, a platform offering end-to-end enterprise financial infrastructure for cross-border e-commerce clients. Their services include:
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Cross-chain stablecoin collections in HKD, USD, USDT, USDC
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Real-time FX conversion, auto-generated invoices, and reconciliation reports
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Multi-user permissions and customizable financial approval workflows
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API integration with ERP and treasury systems—ideal for multi-store, multi-currency operations
This modular system offers businesses a more transparent, secure, and scalable solution for global fund movements.
Beyond Regulation: Hong Kong’s Vision for Global Settlement Infrastructure
The implementation of the Stablecoin Ordinance not only signifies regulatory clarity. It marks a paradigm shift in global settlement architecture.
With global stablecoin market capitalization surpassing USD 250 billion, demand for blockchain-based, compliant settlement solutions has reached unprecedented levels. The ordinance provides institutional legitimacy for deploying stablecoins in scenarios such as cross-border payments, trade financing, and global collections. For the first time, stablecoins are elevated from a gray area into a recognized component of global financial infrastructure.
This is also Asia’s first legislated stablecoin regulatory framework, positioning Hong Kong to regain its leadership in the Web3 and digital asset space. In recent years, Singapore and Dubai have surpassed Hong Kong in the global Web3 race. However, this regulatory milestone could serve as a strategic pivot for Hong Kong to reclaim its influence in financial innovation and digital currency discourse.
Amid this pivotal moment, VelaFi is emerging as a global infrastructure platform designed specifically for cross-border e-commerce, originating from emerging markets. We are committed to a “compliance-first” philosophy—proactively aligning with regulatory developments and policy signals.
VelaFi’s long-term mission is to support clients in cross-border e-commerce, import/export trade, SaaS, and logistics industries by constructing a cross-border financial infrastructure network that is stability-driven, blockchain-enabled, and future-oriented. We firmly believe that the true value of stablecoins lies in their ability to reshape the global flow of capital. VelaFi is building the foundational infrastructure for this future.