The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued its first stablecoin licenses to a group comprising HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands. This move marks the first batch of approvals under the Stablecoins Ordinance, effective August 2025. According to HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue, "We anticipate that the licensed issuers will initiate operations as planned, exploring growth opportunities while effectively managing risks." The regulator assessed 36 applications, prioritizing risk management and anti-money-laundering controls. The decision to license note-issuing banks first appears deliberate, with HSBC and Standard Chartered being two of the three authorized commercial banks to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes.
The licenses are subject to one of the world's strictest Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks for digital money, requiring identity verification for wallet owners and restricting transfers above HK$8,000. This development reflects the HKMA's decision to deprioritize its central bank digital currency for retail use, instead focusing on stablecoins as a potential medium for cross-border commerce.
Whether the market will embrace these regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins remains to be seen, given the dominance of USD-denominated tokens in the $310 billion stablecoin asset class.