In a landmark move, Hong Kong has issued its inaugural stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that also involves Animoca Brands, as announced on Friday. The approvals, made by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the territory's central bank, signify the first batch of licenses granted under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which became effective in August 2025. According to HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue, the authority looks forward to the licensed issuers commencing operations as planned, while exploring growth opportunities and effectively managing associated risks. Yue expressed hopes that the promotion of regulated stablecoins will address existing pain points in financial and economic activities, generate value for individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong.
The HKMA evaluated 36 applications and had indicated that the initial round of approvals would be limited. Financial Secretary Paul Chan had stated in his February budget address that only a small number of licenses would be granted, with the regulator prioritizing risk management, reserve quality, and anti-money-laundering controls.
The decision to initially license note-issuing banks appears to be a deliberate move. HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of the three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes, a system that dates back to 1846. Today, each note-issuing bank deposits US dollars with the government's Exchange Fund at a fixed rate and receives Certificates of Indebtedness in return, against which it prints banknotes. In a December 2023 blog post, Yue drew parallels between pre-1935 banknotes issued by commercial banks in exchange for deposited silver and stablecoins, which function as their blockchain-based equivalent.
The licenses are subject to one of the world's strictest Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks for digital money. Under the HKMA's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) guidelines, licensed stablecoins can only be transferred to wallets whose owners have undergone identity verification. The travel rule applies to transfers exceeding HK$8,000 (~$1,000).
This means that HKD stablecoins will likely incorporate compliance checks into their smart contracts, restricting transfers to wallets listed in an on-chain white list, making them structurally different from freely transferable tokens like USDT or USDC. 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, the focus has shifted to stablecoins, which were a major theme at Hong Kong Fintech Week.
Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters stated that Hong Kong's push into stablecoins and tokenized deposits could lay the foundation for a new era of digital trade settlement, positioning them as a new medium for cross-border commerce. The market's response to this development remains to be seen. With stablecoins being a roughly $310 billion asset class, dominated by USD-denominated tokens, Hong Kong is betting that regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins can carve out a role in regional trade settlement. However, it is uncertain whether a non-dollar stablecoin, despite being tightly regulated, can build the necessary network effects to compete.