Hong Kong passed a stablecoin bill that will enable the region to establish a licensing regime for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers.

«Hong Kong’s stablecoins are backed by fiat currency as underlying assets, and we welcome global enterprises and institutions interested in issuing stablecoins to apply in Hong Kong,» legislative council member Johnny Ng said on X on Wednesday.

Institutions are expected to be able to apply for a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority by the year-end.

Hong Kong has been working on establishing a stablecoin regime since 2023. The nation had published a consultation paper on stablecoin guidelines towards the end of 2023. It later introduced the Stablecoin Bill, which the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passed in its third reading, Ng’s post said.

The region has been looking to keep up with nations around the world that have been establishing their stablecoin regimes. The European Union started licensing stablecoin issuers last year after passing its wide-ranging bespoke crypto bill, called the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCa). Meanwhile, the U.S. has a stablecoin bill that is passing through Congress, and the U.K. has been gathering feedback on draft legislation that will also affect stablecoins.

The stablecoin sector has become the hottest trend in recent years, with both crypto and TradFi firms ramping up their exposure to the industry. Ben Reynolds, BitGo’s managing director of stablecoins, said at Consensus 2025 that large banks are increasingly taking notice of the industry, largely out of fear that they will lose market share to the digital dollars.

Read more: Banks Exploring Stablecoin Amid Fears of Losing Market Share, BitGo Executive Says

Bitcoin BTC became the world’s fifth-largest asset after hitting a new all-time high on Wednesday, which pushed its market cap to $2.16 trillion.

Though the crypto’s price consolidated lower after hitting a high of $109,400, its market cap passed Amazon (AMZN), which stands at $2.15 trillion.

Bitcoin is up 16.44% year-to-date while shares of the online retailer are down about 8% over the same period. It is currently trading at $108,954.

Gold is the largest asset, by far, standing at a $22 trillion market cap, followed by Microsoft (MSFT), NVIDIA (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) which stand at $3.1 trillion to $3.4 trillion respectively.

As a result of the surge in bitcoin’s price since the win of U.S. President Donald Trump, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recently became the fifth-largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) by inflows this year as it took in roughly $9 billion from investors, according to data from Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

Chainlink’s price action demonstrates remarkable resilience amid mixed global economic conditions.

The token has established a well-defined rising channel pattern, with technical indicators supporting continued bullish momentum.

After successfully breaking above the 200-day moving average, LINK has maintained its upward trajectory despite short-term resistance.

Exchange outflows remain consistently negative, with $11.27 million worth of LINK exiting exchanges this week following $55.2 million in outflows last week. This pattern of decreasing exchange balances typically signals investor accumulation rather than selling pressure.

Meanwhile, Chainlink’s technology continues gaining traction in the DeFi sector, with recent integrations including JPMorgan, Ondo Finance, and Solana mainnet.

Analysts project LINK could reach $20 in the near term, with longer-term forecasts suggesting potential growth to $50 by 2028 and $100 by 2030 as adoption of its Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) expands across the blockchain ecosystem.

Technical Analysis Highlights

• LINK established strong support at $15.60 with high-volume buying emerging at the $15.27-$15.30 zone during the 18-19 hour timeframe on May 20th.
• A significant volume spike (3.08M) during the 11:00 hour on May 21st coincided with LINK testing the $16.24 resistance level.
• The overall trend remains bullish with higher lows forming a clear upward channel.
• LINK demonstrated significant bullish momentum in the last hour, surging from $15.67 to a peak of $15.91, representing a 1.5% gain.
• A notable volume spike occurred at 13:30, catalyzing a sharp upward movement that established a new support level around $15.75.
• The price action formed an ascending channel with higher lows, though some profit-taking emerged near the $15.90 resistance level.
• Final minutes showed consolidation around $15.85, with volume patterns suggesting accumulation rather than distribution.

External References

• «Chainlink Price Prediction: Can Increased Network Adoption Rejuvenate Bullish Momentum for LINK?«, CoinPedia, published May 20, 2025.
• «Chainlink price prediction 2025-2031: A strong buy sentiment for LINK?«, Cryptopolitan, published May 20, 2025.
• «Chainlink In Rally Mode: Rising Channel Formation Signals Continued Climb«, NewsBTC, published May 21, 2025.
• «Chainlink price targets $20 as exchange outflows surge«, crypto.news, published May 21, 2025.