In a landmark decision, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has awarded its first two stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands, on Friday. This move signifies the first set of approvals under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which was implemented in August 2025. According to Eddie Yue, the chief executive of the HKMA, 'We anticipate that the issuers will launch their businesses as planned, exploring growth opportunities while effectively managing risks.' He further expressed hope that the promotion of regulated stablecoins would address challenges in financial and economic activities, create value for individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong. The HKMA evaluated 36 applications and had indicated that the initial round would be limited.
Paul Chan, the Financial Secretary, stated in his February budget address that only a small number of licenses would be granted, with the regulator prioritizing risk management, reserve quality, and anti-money-laundering controls. The decision to license note-issuing banks first appears to be deliberate, given that HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of the three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes. This system dates back to 1846, when private banks began issuing currency backed by silver deposits.
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. In a December 2023 blog post, Yue drew a parallel between pre-1935 banknotes issued by commercial banks in exchange for deposited silver, which he referred to as a form of 'private money,' 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.
Under the HKMA's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) guidelines, licensed stablecoins can only be transferred to wallets whose owners have been identity-verified, and the travel rule applies to transfers above HK$8,000. 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 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 significant focus, 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. Whether the market agrees 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 network effects needed to compete.