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Enoch Yiu

HSBC and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered have been awarded Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licences, marking the city’s latest step towards embracing cryptocurrency’s most-traded cash substitute in its bid to become a global digital asset hub.
Eight months after Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance, one of the world’s first such laws, took effect, HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, the Standard Chartered-led group, received the green light from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Friday.
“The two applicants have experience in traditional finance and risk management, which fits the mission of stablecoins that aim to bridge traditional finance and digital finance,” said HKMA deputy chief executive Darryl Chan.
Friday’s announcement confirms an exclusive South China Morning Post report a month ago naming HSBC and a Standard Chartered-led group as the likely awardees.
HSBC said on Friday that it would launch its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe and mobile banking platforms. The initial phase will support peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and peer-to-merchant payments. Additionally, customers will be able to use stablecoins to subscribe to tokenised investments via the app.

HSBC Hong Kong CEO Maggie Ng said the stablecoins would not pay interest, but would allow fast settlement, while the bank or merchants could offer awards to encourage usage. Next year, HSBC could expand to stablecoins pegged to other currencies, she added.
Anchorpoint Financial, the joint venture formed by Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and HKT Ltd, would introduce a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin called HKD At Par (HKDAP) starting from the second quarter, with initial focus on institutional investors, Anchorpoint CEO Dominic Maffei said in a media briefing on Friday, adding that the group would not focus on retail usage initially.
Maffei noted that stablecoins would reduce transaction costs and allow settlements around the clock.
The announcement of the licensees came later than initially expected. The HKMA had earlier revealed that it would only grant a small number of licences after assessing 36 applications.
HKMA’s Chan said the delay was due to a longer than expected review process as the regulator needed to make sure all issuers were able to meet the risk management, “know your client” and operational requirements.
“The HKMA will review whether it will issue more licenses in future but it will only be a small number as the HKMA will keep the standard high,” he said.
Issuers can decide which currency to peg to, but Chan said Beijing had to give approval for any yuan-pegged stablecoin.
The small number of players reflects the city’s stringent approach to regulating stablecoins – cryptocurrencies typically pegged to a fiat currency or other reference assets – as it seeks to prevent destabilisation of financial systems amid the easier flow of money enabled by blockchain technology.


The announcement of licensed stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong comes after China in February explicitly banned the onshore tokenisation of real-world assets (RWAs), tightened scrutiny of related offshore activities and barred the issuance of yuan-pegged offshore stablecoins without authorisation.
Over the past several months, both Beijing and Hong Kong have commented on the hype around stablecoins and RWAs, with the potential rise of scams and fraud, as well as stock price speculation. In Beijing’s case, the tough stance aligns with its long-time capital controls and a cryptocurrency ban issued in 2021.
However, experts said Hong Kong could serve as a testing ground for financial innovations such as stablecoins, especially amid competition with the US and tailwinds for the internationalisation of the yuan.
“Hong Kong is a testing field for Chinese assets and money to go abroad on the blockchain,” said Raymond Chan, vice-chairman of the Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia. “We are the firewall defending against challenges that may disrupt the market in China, thanks to our full set of regulations.”

Stablecoins were a “must-have” and “basic building block” in the Web3 ecosystem, according to Neil Tan, a member of the Hong Kong government’s Web3 task force. “If blockchain is the body, AI is the brain and stablecoins are the essential blood, keeping value flowing smoothly through the system.”
The global market value of stablecoins stands at about US$315 billion, with annual transaction volumes of up to US$35 trillion, industry data showed.
Use cases for stablecoins would not only be payments and easing conversion to and from fiat currencies, but also trading and settlement of RWAs and other tokenised assets, Tan said.


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Hong Kong awards stablecoin licences to HSBC, StanChart-led group in long-awaited roll-out

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HSBC will launch its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe and mobile banking platforms


HSBC will launch its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe and mobile banking platforms.


Hong Kong awards stablecoin licences to HSBC, StanChart-led group in long-awaited roll-out

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}HSBC will launch its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe and mobile banking platforms

HSBC will launch its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe and mobile banking platforms