The Hong Kong government has granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands, in a move that marks the beginning of a new era in digital assets in the region. According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the approvals are the first batch under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect in August 2025. HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue expressed his expectations, stating, "We look forward to the issuers launching their businesses according to their plans, exploring growth opportunities while properly managing risks." Yue further emphasized the potential benefits of regulated stablecoins, saying, "We hope their promotion of regulated stablecoins will address pain points in financial and economic activities, create values for both individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong." The HKMA received 36 applications and had indicated that the initial round would be limited.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan had mentioned in his February budget address that only a small number of licenses would be approved, with the regulator prioritizing risk management, reserve quality, and anti-money-laundering controls. The decision to license note-issuing banks first 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 U.S. 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 — tokens with stable value that can serve as a medium of exchange on-chain.
The licenses come with 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 been identity-verified, with the travel rule applying to transfers above HK$8,000.
In practice, this means HKD stablecoins will likely embed 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 was weak. Stablecoins have become a significant theme in Hong Kong's fintech landscape, with Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters stating that the territory'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 agree. Stablecoins are a roughly $310 billion asset class, with USD-denominated tokens dominating nearly all of it. The question is whether a non-dollar stablecoin, however tightly regulated, can build the network effects needed to compete.