Hong Kong grants first stablecoin licences to StanChart joint venture and HSBC

HONG KONG, April 10 : Hong Kong has issued its first licences for fiat-backed stablecoins, a major step in the city's push to develop regulated digital currencies in global finance and trade.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Friday it had approved HSBC and a joint venture by Standard Chartered to issue stablecoins backed by the Hong Kong dollar under the city's new stablecoin regime, which came into effect in August 2025.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and are usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar.

Both of the firms are expected to launch stablecoins in the second half of this year to cover cross-border and local use cases, as well as digital asset trading, according to HKMA, the territory's de facto central bank.

Granting the first licences to two traditional banks reflects Hong Kong’s effort to balance its push to become a global virtual asset centre while remaining mindful about the risk of money laundering.

HKMA is "open but cautious" about issuing more licences in the future, Daryl Ho, deputy chief executive at HKMA said at a press briefing, adding the number of additional licences would be "very limited".

The authority received a total of 36 stablecoin licence applications last year.

"The stablecoin pilot by note-issuing banks is a prudent, visionary step that cements stablecoins as the core pillar of Hong Kong’s Web3 ecosystem," said Livio Weng, CEO of Hong Kong-based crypto firm Bitfire.

The StanChart joint venture is called Anchorpoint Financial, and was formed with Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications.

In a statement, Anchorpoint said it was going to work with selected businesses to act as distributors to enable public access to its stablecoin.

HSBC's stablecoin, meanwhile, will be available on the bank's two mobile apps, namely PayMe and HSBC HK Mobile Banking, the lender said in a separate statement.

The bank plans to offer retail customers and merchants more flexible and secure options via stablecoins, it added.

Such services include peer-to-peer payments, customer-to-merchant payments, and tokenised investments.

Reuters reported last year that Chinese tech giants, Alibaba-backed Ant Group and e-commerce group JD.com, had paused plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong after the government raised concerns about the rise of currencies controlled by the private sector.