Circle CEO envisions stablecoins playing greater role in Hong Kong trade settlements

Jeremy Allaire envisions a ‘global network of stablecoins’ enabling ‘better, faster, cheaper’ transactions for emerging markets trading through Hong Kong

Reading Time:2 minutes

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire discusses the potential of stablecoins on the first day of Hong Kong FinTech Week 2024 on Monday. Photo: Hong Kong FinTech Week

Published: 7:00am, 30 Oct 2024Updated: 10:14am, 30 Oct 2024

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of the USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, said Hong Kong is becoming an increasingly important market for settlements as stablecoins become a critical part of that infrastructure.

“In emerging and developing markets … there are importers who are importing out of Asia, and a lot of the trade flow is settled through Hong Kong,” Allaire said in an interview with the Post on the second day of Hong Kong FinTech Week 2024 on Tuesday. “We’re seeing this demand on both sides … The firms are like, ‘this is better, faster, cheaper.’”

The issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin, which is pegged to the US dollar, hosted its Circle Forum in Hong Kong for the first time at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday. Coinciding with the event, the company announced two new partnerships: a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) to explore blockchain-based loyalty solutions and a collaboration with Thunes to help settle cross-border transactions in USDC.

In addition to tokenisation, which is a major theme at FinTech Week this year, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are expected to play an important role in the next phase of Hong Kong’s Web3 push after momentum in the cryptocurrency space slowed. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is set to introduce a new stablecoin regulation by year end, and Circle is positioning itself as a responsible player that is ready to adhere to different regulatory regimes around the world.

“As I like to say, we’re kind of the global regulatory guinea pig for stablecoins in that we’re a regulated player, we always have been. We’re globally adopted,” Allaire said. “Our view is that this is going to become regulated financial infrastructure everywhere in the world.”

Hong Kong FinTech Week 2024 kicked off on October 28 with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and tokenisation. Photo: Matt Haldane

During a talk at FinTech Week on Monday, Allaire said Circle envisions a “global network of stablecoins that underpin the on-chain economy”. While some have seen potential for CBDCs to play an important role in a more streamlined cross-border settlement process, Allaire said stablecoins are on the path to fulfilling this role already. China has the largest CBDC project so far, but it remains nascent.