China’s Central Bank Slams the Brakes on Private Stablecoins

Beijing has quietly moved to curb Hong Kong’s growing stablecoin ambitions, instructing some of China’s biggest tech firms to hold off on their crypto plans.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that Ant Group and JD.com – both key players in China’s digital economy – were preparing to issue stablecoins pegged to the yuan under Hong Kong’s new licensing framework.

The initiative, however, was halted after central authorities intervened, signaling concern that private digital currencies could challenge Beijing’s own digital yuan project.

Officials from the People’s Bank of China and the Cyberspace Administration reportedly warned the companies not to proceed, arguing that private-sector coins could undermine monetary control. The central bank’s governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, recently underscored these worries, saying that unregulated stablecoin issuance and financial leverage could destabilize monetary systems – even as new rules in the U.S. and Hong Kong attempt to address such risks.

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Hong Kong’s government has tried to attract crypto development and global investment by creating a clear framework for stablecoins, drawing interest from more than 70 companies, including Ant and JD.com. But China’s renewed oversight reminds the market that, despite Hong Kong’s autonomy, Beijing ultimately dictates the limits of digital finance.

In recent months, regulators have also discouraged brokerages from promoting or pursuing tokenization projects tied to real-world assets, adding to the impression that China wants to keep private innovation tightly aligned with state priorities.