In a landmark move, Hong Kong has issued its first two stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands. This decision, made by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), is the first batch of approvals under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which was enacted in August 2025.

According to HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue, "We anticipate that the licensed issuers will launch their operations as planned, exploring growth opportunities while effectively managing risks." The regulator assessed 36 applications and prioritized risk management, reserve quality, and anti-money-laundering controls. The licenses have been awarded to note-issuing banks first, with HSBC and Standard Chartered being two of the three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes. The HKMA's decision to license these banks first appears to be deliberate, given their historical role in issuing currency.

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 come with one of the world's strictest Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks for digital money, requiring licensed stablecoins to only be transferred to wallets whose owners have been identity-verified. This strict regime is designed to prevent money laundering and other illicit activities.

The travel rule applies to transfers above HK$8,000 (~$1,000), and in practice, this means that HKD stablecoins will likely embed compliance checks into their smart contracts, restricting transfers to wallets listed in an on-chain white list. This approach makes 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 for retail use.

Instead, the focus is on stablecoins and tokenized deposits, which could "lay the foundation for a new era of digital trade settlement," according to Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters. The success of this approach remains to be seen, as the market for stablecoins is dominated by USD-denominated tokens.

However, Hong Kong is betting that regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins can carve out a role in regional trade settlement, issued by the same institutions, under the same constraints, on new rails.