HKMA announced today the recipients of the Hong Kong stablecoin licence under the Stablecoins Ordinance.

The much-coveted Hong Kong stablecoin license were awarded to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial today, 10 April 2026. Both licences take effect immediately.

The HKMA stablecoin licence approvals come after months of anticipation since the regulatory regime took effect on 1 August 2025, including weeks of unconfirmed reports and a missed March timeline. The central bank received 36 formal applications by the end of September 2025, and had signalled that it would only grant a small number in the first round.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan confirmed as recently as February 2026 that the batch would be deliberately limited, with the regulator prioritising risk management, reserve quality, and AML/CFT controls when it issues its Hong Kong stablecoin licence.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are said to be two of only three commercial banks authorised to issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes. Anchorpoint Financial is a joint venture between Standard Chartered, Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) and Animoca Brands.

HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Darryl Chan shared that the two applicants were chosen for their experience in traditional finance and risk management, described as fitting for stablecoins to cross conventional and digital finance, according to the South China Morning Post.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said that both the issuers plan to complete preparatory work before launching operations in the coming months.

Last updated: 10 April 2026

Hong Kong Stablecoin Licence Holders

HKMA confirmed both licences in its HKMA stablecoin licence list, updating its Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers for the first time since the Stablecoins Ordinance took effect in August 2025.

HSBC and Anchorpoint: Two Licences, Two Different Strategies

HSBC intends to launch a Hong Kong dollar (HKD) denominated stablecoin in the second half of 2026 under the new licence.

According to the bank’s news release, each HSBC-issued stablecoin will be “fully backed at all times by high-quality, liquid assets held in segregated accounts, and will meet the highest financial crime compliance standards.”

The HSBC HKD stablecoin will be integrated across PayMe and the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App (HSBC HK App).

In its initial phase, the bank will use its stablecoin licence to provide retail customers and merchants with more flexible and secure options for everyday banking.

These comprise Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments, which would instantly transfer value to friends and family via stablecoins under both apps, Peer-to-Merchant (P2M) payments for participating merchants via PayMe, and finally tokenised investments via the HSBC HK App.

Maggie Ng, CEO Hong Kong at HSBC, said:

“We are delighted that the HKMA has granted HSBC a stablecoin issuer licence. We look forward to participating in this pioneering regulatory regime, which will allow HSBC-issued stablecoins to be used safely and securely by our customers for payments and transactions in Hong Kong. Today’s news aligns with Hong Kong’s ambition to become a global digital asset hub.”

Meanwhile, Anchorpoint intends to adopt a B2B2C model, which would allow the company to leverage its extensive client bases of selected authorised distributors to enable public access to its Hong Kong Dollar-backed stablecoins, referred to as HKDAP (HKD At Par).

Anchorpoint intends to provide incentives to early adoption partners developing real-world use cases with tangible benefits, and is especially keen on co-developing use cases that enable the settlement and distribution of tokenised real-world assets.

Anchorpoint has not given a specific date for HKDAP’s public availability.

Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered, added:

“The issuance of HKDAP by Anchorpoint provides a powerful regulated medium of exchange that will further the rewiring of our financial markets and help promote the next generation of international trade. By combining Hong Kong’s regulatory rigour with the efficiency of public blockchain technology, we are moving closer to a world where assets are natively digital, transparent and settled instantaneously.”

According to a press release, Anchorpoint started its stablecoin exploration in early 2023 and was later admitted as one of HKMA’s Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox participants in 2024.

Participants of the HKMA Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox as of July 2024 were JINGDONG Coinlink Technology Hong Kong Limited, RD InnoTech Limited, and Anchorpoint Financial via Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Animoca Brands Limited, and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited.

HKMA’s Vision for Regulated Stablecoins

Eddie Yue, the Chief Executive of the HKMA, shared that the granting of the stablecoin issuer licences provides an orderly operating environment for the stablecoin issuers.

It allows the issuers to apply innovative technologies while ensuring robust user protection and effective risk management simultaneously.

He further reiterated, sharing that the HKMA hopes that the promotion of regulated stablecoins would address pain points in financial and economic activities, ultimately supporting the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong.

According to the HKMA website, the Hong Kong central bank stablecoin licences for HKMA are as follows: FRS01 for Anchorpoint Financial Limited, and FRS02 for the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

Featured image edited by Fintech News Hong Kong based on an image by sutinyuukrung15 on Freepik