China’s JD.com registers ‘Jcoin’ ahead of Hong Kong stablecoin regime

China-based e-commerce giant JD.com has reportedly registered entities tied to a potential stablecoin rollout just days ahead of Hong Kong’s new stablecoin regulations going into effect.

JD.com, often referred to as China’s Amazon, has registered two potential stablecoin-linked entities, Jcoin and Joycoin, through its fintech subsidiary, JD Coinlink Technology, according to a report by Hong Kong news outlet Ming Pao on Tuesday.

JD Coinlink is one of the official participants in the stablecoin issuer sandbox program by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which launched last year.

According to the JD Coinlink website, the upcoming “Jingdong stablecoin” is 1:1 pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and issued on a public blockchain with a mission to become one of the leading digital currencies for businesses and individuals.

HKMA’s stablecoin regime starts Friday

The report on JD.com’s purported stablecoin entity registrations comes a year after JD.com’s JD Coinlink started exploring stablecoins as part of the HKMA’s stablecoin sandbox launched in March 2024.

Apart from JD Coinlink, the sandbox also involved RD InnoTech and Standard Chartered Bank’s Hong Kong division alongside Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications.

An excerpt from HKMA’s stablecoin issuer sandbox announcement in July 2024. Source: HKMA

JD Coinlink disclosed its plans for a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin soon after HKMA published the sandbox announcement last July.

Hong Kong yet to disclose licensed issuers

After completing the preparation phase, the HKMA is expected to implement its regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers this Friday.

The Hong Kong central bank is yet to announce the licensed stablecoin issuers, though, as its register of licensed stablecoin issuers currently lists no issuers.

Hong Kong’s register of licensed stablecoin issuers. Source: HKMA

“With the coming of the HK stablecoin regime in August, everybody in China and HK is talking about stablecoins,” Red Date Technology CEO He Yifan told Cointelegraph in mid-July.

Related: Chinese blockchain Conflux launching offshore yuan-backed stablecoin

“This will be very interesting and involve some new innovations and regulations for the crypto industry,” He noted, adding:

“For example, we are pushing for a process for KYCing [Know Your Customer-ing] public chain-based stablecoin wallets with anonymous private key signatures from government-issued DIDs [decentralized identifiers].”

With the HKMA yet to disclose the names of issuers set to launch Hong Kong dollar stablecoins, JD’s reported registration of a stablecoin entity could be timely, just ahead of the anticipated product launch this Friday.

JD Coinlink’s warning against fraudulent actors pretending to be offering its stablecoin. Source: JD Coinlink

Ahead of the official launch, the JD Coinlink website warns users to beware of fraudulent imitations, emphasizing that the stablecoin has not yet been issued.

Cointelegraph approached JD.com and JD Coinlink for comment regarding the Jcoin and Joycoin registration reports, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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