Hong Kong Issues Stablecoin Licenses, Promotes Web3 and AI Integration

ChainCatcher reports live: Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, delivered the opening speech at the 2026 Hong Kong Web3 Festival. He noted that 2026 is a pivotal turning point, as Web3 is maturing, with financial institutions increasingly leveraging digital assets and tokenization to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and shorten settlement times. The rise of AI agents represents a further milestone, and the convergence of these two technologies will be a “game-changer.” He emphasized that Hong Kong, as an international financial center, is actively embracing innovation while adhering to the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation,” with regulators tasked with both prudent oversight and market development. He revealed that Hong Kong has already issued two stablecoin issuer licenses this month, with over $2 billion in tokenized green and infrastructure bonds issued to date. Additionally, Hong Kong will establish an “AI+ and Industry Development Strategy Committee” to promote the integrated application of Web3 and AI in finance and other sectors.