[The People's Bank of China Defines Stablecoins for the First Time, Emphasizes Crackdown on Illegal Virtual Currency Activities] The People's Bank of China recently held a meeting of the coordination mechanism for combating virtual currency trading and speculation, where it explicitly defined stablecoins as a form of virtual currency for the first time. It pointed out that stablecoins fail to effectively meet requirements for customer identity verification and anti-money laundering, and pose risks such as being used for money laundering, fundraising fraud, and illegal cross-border fund transfers. The bank emphasized the continued crackdown on illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies. Industry insiders believe that this meeting will not affect Hong Kong's stablecoin-related developments, but speculation around stablecoins in mainland China will face strict suppression. The scope for domestic entities to develop stablecoins in Hong Kong will likely be more limited to practical application scenarios such as cross-border payments and supply chain finance.