In a groundbreaking move, Hong Kong has issued its inaugural stablecoin licenses to two prominent financial institutions: HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered and including Animoca Brands. This development follows the implementation of the Stablecoins Ordinance in August 2025.
According to Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the regulator is looking forward to the licensed issuers launching their operations, exploring growth opportunities while effectively managing risks. The HKMA chief executive expressed hopes that the promotion of regulated stablecoins will address existing pain points in financial and economic activities, create value for individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong.
The licensing decision was made after the HKMA assessed 36 applications, with Financial Secretary Paul Chan indicating in his February budget address that only a limited number of approvals would be granted, prioritizing risk management, reserve quality, and anti-money-laundering controls. Notably, the decision to license note-issuing banks first appears to be a deliberate move, given that HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of only three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes.
The HKMA's approach to stablecoins draws parallels with the historical context of private banks issuing currency backed by silver deposits. Today, each note-issuing bank deposits U.S.
dollars with the government's Exchange Fund and receives Certificates of Indebtedness in return, against which it prints banknotes. The licenses are subject to one of the world's strictest Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks for digital money, requiring licensed stablecoins to be transferred only to wallets whose owners have undergone identity verification.
Moreover, the travel rule applies to transfers exceeding HK$8,000 (~$1,000). This framework is expected to lead to the development of compliance checks embedded in smart contracts, restricting transfers to wallets listed in an on-chain white list.
The bank-led stablecoin model also reflects the HKMA's decision to deprioritize its central bank digital currency (CBDC) for retail use, following an 11-group pilot program that found the retail case to be weak. Instead, stablecoins have become a key focus area, with Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters suggesting that Hong Kong's push into stablecoins and tokenized deposits could lay the foundation for a new era of digital trade settlement.
However, it remains to be seen whether the market will respond positively to this development, given that stablecoins are a roughly $310 billion asset class dominated by USD-denominated tokens. The success of regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins in carving out a role in regional trade settlement will depend on their ability to build the necessary network effects to compete with established players.