The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on April 10 granted its first two stablecoin issuer licenses under the Stablecoins Ordinance, selecting HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial from a pool of 36 applications submitted by September 30, 2025. The approval rate — 5.6% — signals one of the most restrictive li...
"The granting of stablecoin issuer licences is an important milestone for the development of digital assets in Hong Kong. The regulatory regime provides an orderly operating environment for stablecoin issuers to apply innovative technologies while ensuring robust user protection and effective risk management." — Eddie Yue, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on April 10 granted its first two stablecoin issuer licenses under the Stablecoins Ordinance, selecting HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial from a pool of 36 applications submitted by September 30, 2025. The approval rate — 5.6% — signals one of the most restrictive licensing regimes in global digital asset regulation.
HSBC plans to issue a Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoin in the second half of 2026, integrated into its PayMe app (3.3 million users) and HSBC HK Mobile Banking platform. Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture between Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT), and Animoca Brands, targets a phased launch of HKDAP ("HKD At Par") from Q2 2026 using a B2B2C distribution model.
The licenses position Hong Kong as the second major Asian jurisdiction after Japan to implement standalone stablecoin legislation, and the first to grant licenses to systemically important banks. The move comes as the global stablecoin market exceeds $310 billion in total capitalization, with roughly 99% denominated in U.S. dollars through Tether's USDT ($183.2 billion) and Circle's USDC ($73.5 billion).
The HKMA received 36 applications during the first-batch window, which closed September 30, 2025. The review process lasted approximately six months. According to Eddie Yue, assessment focused on two areas: "an applicant's capability and experience in risk management as well as the commitment to comply with relevant rules and regulations" and the demonstration of "distinct use cases with viable business plans."
Yue stated that "the licensing threshold will remain high" and that "should additional licences be granted in future, the overall number will remain very limited." The HKMA has not confirmed a formal second application window. Reports indicate the regulator continues engagement with "remaining applicants and those considering applying," but no timeline has been disclosed.
The 5.6% approval rate contrasts with other jurisdictions. Singapore's Payment Services Act has licensed over a dozen digital payment token service providers. The EU's MiCA framework, while comprehensive, has processed applications at a faster pace since taking effect. Hong Kong has opted for restrictive supply rather than broad market access.
HSBC's license permits issuance of HKD-referenced stablecoins, with a planned launch in H2 2026. The bank's distribution strategy centers on two existing platforms:
PayMe — HSBC's peer-to-peer payment app with over 3.3 million registered users as of February 2026. In a city of 7.5 million residents, PayMe penetration stands at approximately 44%. The stablecoin will support:
HSBC HK Mobile Banking App — The bank's primary digital banking platform, which will serve as the channel for institutional and investment-grade use cases, including settlement of tokenized assets.
The integration into existing banking infrastructure — rather than a standalone wallet or exchange listing — represents a distribution advantage unavailable to crypto-native stablecoin issuers. HSBC's HKD stablecoin will be fully backed by "high quality liquid assets held in segregated accounts," according to the bank's announcement. Specific reserve composition has not been disclosed.
Anchorpoint Financial Limited was established in February 2025 as a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, formed as a joint venture with three partners:
| Partner | Role | |---|---| | Standard Chartered Bank (HK) | Largest shareholder; banking infrastructure, compliance, and reserve management | | HKT (Hong Kong Telecommunications) | Distribution via telecom network; 4.5 million mobile subscribers | | Animoca Brands | Web3 technology, blockchain integration, digital ecosystem access |
The consortium plans to issue HKDAP ("HKD At Par"), a 1:1 HKD-backed stablecoin, in phases beginning Q2 2026. The distribution model is B2B2C — Anchorpoint will partner with authorized distributors rather than serving end users directly.
Dominic Maffei, CEO of Anchorpoint, leads operations. Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, stated: "At Standard Chartered, we are committed to embracing innovation and see ourselves as a vital link between clients and financial markets." Evan Auyang, Group President of Animoca Brands, called the license "a landmark moment not only for our joint venture Anchorpoint but also for Hong Kong's ambition to lead the world in regulated digital finance."
Anchorpoint's stated use cases include settlement and distribution of tokenized real-world assets, and cross-border capital and payment flows. This positions HKDAP as infrastructure for Hong Kong's broader tokenization agenda rather than a consumer payments tool alone.
The Stablecoins Ordinance, effective August 1, 2025, imposes the following requirements on licensed issuers:
| Requirement | Specification | |---|---| | Minimum paid-up share capital | HK$25 million (~$3.2 million) | | Minimum liquid capital | HK$3 million (~$385,000) | | Excess liquid capital | Equal to 12 months of operating expenses | | Reserve backing | 100% at all times; market value ≥ par value of circulating stablecoins | | Redemption | 1:1 at par within one business day | | Reserve disclosure | Mandatory public disclosure of reserve composition | | AML/CFT | Blockchain analytics tools required; identity verification of holders | | Technology risk | Mandatory stress testing and operational resilience frameworks |
The requirement for identity verification of stablecoin holders is noteworthy. Unlike USDT or USDC, which can circulate pseudonymously on public blockchains, Hong Kong-licensed stablecoins must implement holder KYC. This limits permissionless circulation but aligns with FATF travel rule compliance.
Neither licensee has disclosed which blockchain(s) will host their stablecoins. Both announcements reference "public blockchain technology" without naming specific networks.
The global stablecoin market presents a structural challenge for HKD-denominated entrants. As of February 2026:
USD-denominated tokens capture approximately 99% of global stablecoin transaction volume. Non-USD stablecoins — including EUR, SGD, JPY, and GBP variants — have struggled to gain meaningful market share.
The Asia-Pacific region processed approximately $2.4 trillion in on-chain transaction volume in the year to June 2025, according to Chainalysis data. The vast majority of this volume was USD-denominated. An HKD stablecoin enters a market where even the Hong Kong dollar's traditional strengths — its peg to the USD at 7.75-7.85 and deep liquidity — may not translate into stablecoin adoption when users can simply hold USDC or USDT.
The counter-argument: HSBC's PayMe integration could create demand through convenience. A stablecoin embedded in an app used by 44% of the population does not need to compete with USDT on crypto exchanges. It needs to compete with Faster Payment System (FPS) transfers and Octopus card transactions within Hong Kong's domestic payments ecosystem.
Hong Kong's framework technically permits stablecoins referenced to currencies other than the HKD. The possibility of an RMB-backed stablecoin has drawn attention given Hong Kong's role as the world's largest offshore RMB clearing center.
However, Beijing has drawn a clear line. Mainland Chinese regulators have signaled that any RMB-referenced stablecoin issuance would require explicit approval from the People's Bank of China and would need to comply with China's capital account controls and exchange rate management framework. According to reporting from CNBC in February 2026, Hong Kong proceeded with its stablecoin regime "despite Beijing's reservations."
Neither HSBC nor Anchorpoint has announced plans for RMB-denominated stablecoins. Both initial licenses are limited to HKD-referenced issuance. The regulatory and geopolitical constraints around RMB tokenization remain unresolved.
Hong Kong's licensing decisions arrive amid a broader global acceleration in stablecoin regulation:
Hong Kong's approach is distinctive in two respects. First, it has licensed the city's two largest banks — HSBC and Standard Chartered — as primary issuers, ensuring that stablecoin issuance is embedded within the existing banking system rather than operating parallel to it. Second, its 5.6% approval rate and stated intent to keep "the overall number very limited" prioritizes systemic stability over market competition.
The risk is that restrictive supply creates a market too small to matter. A single-city HKD stablecoin, even one issued by HSBC, faces an addressable market limited by Hong Kong's 7.5 million population and $400 billion GDP. The opportunity lies in cross-border settlement — particularly along the Hong Kong–Greater Bay Area–ASEAN corridor — where a regulated, bank-issued stablecoin could serve as settlement infrastructure for tokenized trade finance and capital markets.
Hong Kong's first stablecoin licenses represent the most significant entry of systemically important banks into regulated stablecoin issuance globally. The combination of HSBC's 3.3 million-user PayMe platform and Standard Chartered's consortium approach creates two distinct distribution models — retail-embedded and B2B2C wholesale — that will test whether bank-issued, KYC'd stablecoins can carve out market share in a sector dominated by USD-denominated, permissionless alternatives.
The HKMA's deliberately restrictive licensing approach — two approvals from 36 applications, with a stated commitment to keep future numbers "very limited" — prioritizes regulatory credibility over speed to market. Whether this produces a durable stablecoin ecosystem or an underscaled experiment depends on factors largely outside the HKMA's control: cross-border demand along the Greater Bay Area corridor, Beijing's posture on RMB tokenization, and whether Hong Kong's KYC requirements prove compatible with the programmable, composable use cases that drive stablecoin utility on public blockchains.
The data will become clearer in H2 2026, when both issuers are expected to have stablecoins in circulation. Until then, the licenses are a regulatory milestone without a market to match.