The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued its first stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands. The approval marks the first batch of licenses granted under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which came into effect in August 2025. According to HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue, "We look forward to the licensees launching their businesses as planned, while exploring growth opportunities and managing risks effectively. We hope the promotion of regulated stablecoins will address pain points in financial and economic activities, create value for individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong." Out of 36 applications, the HKMA has chosen to approve a limited number, 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. Today, these banks deposit U.S.
dollars with the government's Exchange Fund and receive Certificates of Indebtedness in return, which they use to print banknotes. In a 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 a strict know-your-customer framework for digital money, requiring licensed stablecoins to only be transferred to wallets whose owners have been identity-verified. 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.
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 was weak. Instead, stablecoins have become a major theme, with Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters stating 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.