Minsheng Securities·2025-06-09 10:23Investment Rating - The report maintains a positive investment rating for the stablecoin industry, particularly focusing on the implications of Hong Kong's Stablecoin Regulation [4]. Core Insights - Stablecoins are crucial infrastructure in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, designed to maintain price stability by pegging their value to stable underlying assets [8][9]. - The global trading volume of stablecoins has seen exponential growth, with daily average trading volume increasing from $432 million in 2019 to $84.143 billion in 2024, representing a CAGR of 187.1% [2][42]. - The introduction of Hong Kong's Stablecoin Regulation is expected to create structural impacts on the non-bank financial sector, allowing qualified non-bank institutions to participate in stablecoin issuance [3][13]. Summary by Sections 1. What are Stablecoins? - Stablecoins are a special type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain price stability by pegging their value to stable assets such as fiat currencies, commodities, or algorithms [8]. - They serve as a bridge between traditional finance and the volatile cryptocurrency market, facilitating transactions, payments, and hedging [9]. 2. Core Mechanism of Stablecoins - Stablecoins can be categorized into four main types based on their collateral: fiat-collateralized, commodity-collateralized, crypto-collateralized, and algorithmic [23][24]. 3. Core Value of Stablecoins - Stablecoins act as a payment tool, providing a low-volatility "value benchmark" for transactions in the cryptocurrency market [29]. - They serve as a value storage mechanism, allowing users to convert volatile assets into stablecoins to mitigate market risks [34]. - Stablecoins enhance transaction efficiency by reducing costs and improving speed, especially in cross-border payments [35]. 4. Global Regulatory Mechanisms for Stablecoins - Hong Kong's Stablecoin Regulation aims to create a robust regulatory environment, requiring all stablecoin issuers to obtain licenses, thereby preventing regulatory arbitrage [15][16]. - The regulation emphasizes a "same activity, same risk, same regulation" principle, ensuring that stablecoin activities are subject to stringent oversight [13]. 5. Impact on Non-Bank Financial Institutions - The regulation is expected to lead to compliance upgrades and create new business opportunities for non-bank institutions, with a focus on major players like ZhongAn Online, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and LianLian Digital [3][22].