Hong Kong has granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, a consortium led by Standard Chartered that includes Animoca Brands. The approvals by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) are the first under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect in August 2025.
The HKMA assessed 36 applications but prioritized risk management and anti-money-laundering controls, approving only a small initial batch. The choice of HSBC and Standard Chartered is deliberate; they are two of only three commercial banks historically authorized to issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes.
The licensed stablecoins will operate under one of the world's strictest KYC frameworks. Transfers will be restricted to identity-verified wallets, making them structurally different from freely transferable tokens like USDT or USDC.
This move reflects a strategic shift. The HKMA has deprioritized a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) after pilot programs found weak demand. Instead, it is betting that regulated, bank-issued HKD stablecoins can carve out a role in regional trade settlement. The market challenge is significant, as the $310 billion stablecoin asset class is currently dominated by dollar-pegged tokens.