In a landmark decision, Hong Kong has granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands. This move marks the first batch of approvals under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which was implemented in August 2025.
According to Eddie Yue, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the regulator is looking forward to the licensees launching their businesses, exploring growth opportunities while managing risks effectively. Yue expressed hope that the promotion of regulated stablecoins will address existing pain points in financial and economic activities, creating value for both individuals and businesses and supporting the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong. The HKMA evaluated 36 applications and had indicated that the initial round of approvals would be limited, prioritizing risk management, reserve quality, and anti-money-laundering controls. The decision to license note-issuing banks first appears to be deliberate, with HSBC and Standard Chartered being two of the three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes.
The licenses come with a strict identity regime, one of the world's strictest KYC frameworks for digital money, requiring licensed stablecoins to be transferred only to wallets whose owners have been identity-verified. 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.
Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters believes that Hong Kong's push into stablecoins and tokenized deposits could lay the foundation for a new era of digital trade settlement, positioning them as a new medium for cross-border commerce. However, it remains to be seen whether the market will agree, given that stablecoins are a roughly $310 billion asset class dominated by USD-denominated tokens.