(Yicai) Aug. 5 -- Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is pushing ahead with its application for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong through its unit JINGDONG Coinlink Technology, The Paper reported today. This is despite recent rumors that a number of large internet giants were pulling out of the race.

No further details were provided in the report. 

Hong Kong's Stablecoin Bill, which came into effect on Aug. 1, introduces a licensing system for companies which issue stablecoins that are tied to fiat currencies as part of a broader effort to regulate virtual assets in the special administrative region.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority disclosed its regulatory framework for stablecoin licenses at the end of July and encouraged interested parties to reach out to it before the end of August if they wanted to apply.

However, it would appear that the special administrative region is being cautious about handing out permits. Eddie Yue, chief executive of the HKMA, has previously said that only a handful of licenses will be granted in the initial phase.

In June, there were reports that both fintech firm Ant Group and JD.com were preparing to apply for stablecoin licenses. Hangzhou-based Ant later confirmed that its international business division intends to apply for licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong.

And on June 17, JD.com's Chairman Richard Liu said that the Beijing-based company aims to apply for stablecoin licenses in all major currencies. The goal is to use stablecoins to facilitate cross-border payments between businesses worldwide, cutting cross-border transaction costs by 90 percent and reducing settlement times to under 10 seconds.

In March 2023, the HKMA launched the "Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox Program," aimed at providing a controlled environment for companies to test their stablecoin operations. JINGDONG Coinlink was part of the first batch of stablecoin issuers named in July that year. 

Editor: Kim Taylor