Why Chelsea football shirts are making Hong Kong fans nervous about crypto laws

English Premier League football club Chelsea’s lucrative new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with a

issuer has left Hong Kong fans and retailers concerned about whether wearing or selling the top counts as illegal promotion under digital currency laws.

Chelsea signed the deal with Circle to feature its USDC stablecoin brand on player jerseys for the 2026-27 season in late August, just three months after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned Premier League clubs about partnering with unauthorised crypto and finance businesses.

Circle’s UK arm, Circle UK Trading, is an FCA-regulated company providing certain financial services. But USDC is not issued or regulated under the laws of the United Kingdom, nor is it distributed by a licensed stablecoin issuer in Hong Kong.

Only two stablecoin issuers are currently licensed in Hong Kong – Anchorpoint Financial Limited and HSBC.

Ahead of the enactment of the Stablecoins Ordinance on August 1, 2025, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) warned on its website that “it will be illegal for any person to … actively market the issue of unlicensed [fiat-referenced stablecoins] to the public”.

Winnie Choi, a Chelsea fan of 12 years, was among those worried about breaking the law.

“After looking up the law, I still do not understand whether it is a problem to wear the jersey,” she said.