The rumors that have been circulating wildly in the crypto community have finally been confirmed—Hong Kong is taking real action against USDT.

This regulatory upgrade is coming in hard. Starting with the mainland, the central bank teamed up with 13 departments to directly define stablecoins as illegal financial activities, banning the entire industry chain from issuance to trading. Bank transfers? Already cut off. Overseas platforms? Blacklisted all the same. The numbers speak for themselves: this year, 342 related cases have been cracked, involving nearly 4.6 billion in funds. Meanwhile, cross-border payments with the digital yuan have already surpassed the 10 trillion mark, and this alternative is being rolled out at lightning speed.

Hong Kong’s “Stablecoin Ordinance” is even tougher. Tether is under heavy scrutiny, and retail investors wanting to touch USDT? No way. Now it’s only open to professional investors, with entry requirements set ridiculously high. As of December, not a single stablecoin license has been issued in Hong Kong—the capital requirements and liquidity reserve standards set by the Monetary Authority are basically keeping most players out.

To put it simply, this whole operation is about one thing: reshaping the market. The mainland is going for a full blockade, while Hong Kong is targeting with precision. The two-pronged approach has squeezed stablecoins’ living space to the limit. The market landscape is about to change dramatically—what happens next? It's every player for themselves.