Stablecoin and Fiat-Referenced Token Licensing in GMC

Stablecoin issuance in the Gelephu Mindfulness City is not a grey area. The Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region (GMC) names "Issuing a Fiat-Referenced Token" as a Regulated Activity in its primary statute, the Financial Services Act 2025, and the same Act says which token designs are prohibited outright. Basnet Law advises issuers on the licence, the token design the Act permits, and the adjacent permissions a distribution model may need.

Confirm that the proposed token meets the statutory definition of a Fiat-Referenced Token, including the single-currency reference and on-demand redemption features.

Screen the design against the Act's prohibition on algorithmic stablecoins and privacy tokens.

Scope adjacent permissions: Providing Money Services for payment rails, Dealing as Principal for primary issuance and redemption desks, and Providing Custody for reserve or client wallets.

Apply the Connected Services exclusion and the payment-services carve-outs so the permission set is no wider than the law requires.

Draft the reserve, redemption, disclosure and governance framework GFSO will examine under the GEN Rulebook 2026 and the Virtual Asset Guidance.

Prepare the application, Approved Person filings and the In-Principle Approval condition plan.

Fintechs and payment companies issuing a USD-referenced or other single-currency token. Exchanges and custodians that want an in-house settlement token. Treasury and remittance businesses building on tokenised fiat. Foreign issuers seeking a regulated GMC entity for an international product.