In a landmark move, Hong Kong has issued its inaugural stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture spearheaded by Standard Chartered and including Animoca Brands, as announced on Friday. The approvals, sanctioned by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the territory's central bank, signify the first batch of licenses granted under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which was enacted in August 2025.
According to HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue, 'We anticipate that the licensed issuers will initiate their operations in accordance with their plans, exploring growth opportunities while diligently managing risks.' Additionally, Yue expressed hopes that 'the promotion of regulated stablecoins will address existing pain points in financial and economic activities, generate value for both individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong.' The HKMA evaluated 36 applications and had previously indicated that the initial round of approvals would be limited. In his February budget address, Financial Secretary Paul Chan stated that only a small number of applicants 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, as 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.
The licenses come with 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 been identity-verified. Furthermore, the travel rule applies to transfers exceeding HK$8,000. 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, following an 11-group pilot program that found the retail case to be weak. Instead, stablecoins have become a focal point, 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.' The market's response remains to be seen, as stablecoins are 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, issued by the same institutions, under the same constraints, on new rails. The question is whether a non-dollar stablecoin, however tightly regulated, can build the necessary network effects to compete.