In a landmark move, Hong Kong has issued its first stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands, on Friday. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the territory's central bank, has approved these licenses under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which became effective in August 2025.
According to HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue, "We look forward to the issuers launching their businesses as planned, exploring growth opportunities while properly managing risks." Yue further expressed his hope that the promotion of regulated stablecoins will address pain points in financial and economic activities, create value 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 of approvals would be limited. Financial Secretary Paul Chan had 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 a deliberate move, as 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 at a fixed rate 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 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, with the travel rule applying 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 to be weak. Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters has stated that Hong Kong's push into stablecoins and tokenized deposits could lay the foundation for a new era of digital trade settlement. However, whether the market agrees remains to be seen, as stablecoins are a roughly $310 billion asset class dominated by USD-denominated tokens. The question is whether a non-dollar stablecoin, however tightly regulated, can build the necessary network effects to compete.