In a landmark move, Hong Kong has awarded its inaugural stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered and backed by Animoca Brands, on Friday. This decision, made by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the territory's central bank, represents the first batch of approvals under the Stablecoins Ordinance that took effect 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 also expressed hopes 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 reviewed 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, which dates back to 1846, involves note-issuing banks depositing U.S. dollars with the government's Exchange Fund at a fixed rate and receiving Certificates of Indebtedness in return, against which they print 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. Under the HKMA's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) guidelines, licensed stablecoins can only be transferred to wallets whose owners have undergone identity verification.
The travel rule applies to transfers exceeding HK$8,000 (~$1,000). 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, 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 to be weak. Instead, stablecoins have become a key focus, 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.
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 regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins can carve out a role in regional trade settlement and build the necessary network effects to compete.