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. This development marks the first batch of approvals under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which was enacted in August 2025. According to Eddie Yue, the chief executive of the HKMA, "We anticipate that the licensed issuers will initiate their operations as planned, exploring growth opportunities while effectively managing risks." The HKMA chief executive 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. Out of 36 applications, the HKMA has approved the initial round of licenses, 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 among the three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes. This system, which dates back to 1846, allows note-issuing banks to deposit U.S. dollars with the government's Exchange Fund at a fixed rate and receive Certificates of Indebtedness in return, against which they can print banknotes.
In a blog post, Yue drew parallels between pre-1935 banknotes issued by commercial banks and stablecoins, describing them as a form of "private money" and their blockchain-based equivalent. The licenses are subject to one of the world's strictest Know Your Customer (KYC) frameworks for digital money, requiring licensed stablecoins to be transferred only to wallets whose owners have undergone identity verification. The travel rule applies to transfers exceeding HK$8,000 (~$1,000). As a result, HKD stablecoins are likely to embed compliance checks into their smart contracts, restricting transfers to wallets listed in an on-chain white list.
This makes 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 for retail use, following an 11-group pilot program that found the retail case to be weak. Instead, the focus has shifted to stablecoins, which were a prominent topic at Hong Kong Fintech Week. Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters noted 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. Stablecoins are a roughly $310 billion asset class, with USD-denominated tokens dominating the market. Data from CoinGecko shows that the largest stablecoins by market capitalization are dollar-pegged, with no euro- or yen-pegged tokens breaking into the top ranks.
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.