Hong Kong issues first stablecoin licences

Hong Kong just handed out its first two stablecoin licences, and one of them went to HSBC itself. The other went to Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture tied to Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong, Hong Kong Telecommunications, and Web3 company Animoca Brands, and both licences took effect on April 10, 2026. (hkma.gov.hk) That is a sharper answer than a lot of early reports gave. Some market stories said HSBC and Standard Chartered were the first winners, but Hong Kong’s own regulator named HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial in the official licence announcement and in the public register. (hkma.gov.hk 1) (hkma.gov.hk 2) A stablecoin is a digital token that tries to hold a fixed price against real money, usually one United States dollar or one Hong Kong dollar. The whole point is to move money on crypto rails without the price swinging like Bitcoin or Ether can swing in a single afternoon. (hkma.gov.hk) Hong Kong is not treating that like a software experiment. Since August 1, 2025, anyone issuing a fiat-referenced stablecoin in Hong Kong has needed a licence under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which turned stablecoin issuance into a regulated financial activity. (hkma.gov.hk) (info.gov.hk) The rulebook is built around a simple promise: if a coin says it is worth one dollar, the issuer has to be able to make that true on demand. Hong Kong’s supervision guidelines require reserve management, redemption arrangements, anti-money-laundering controls, and ongoing compliance with minimum licensing criteria. (hkma.gov.hk) (info.gov.hk) That is why the names matter. HSBC is one of the world’s biggest banks, and Anchorpoint links a global bank, a telecom operator with consumer reach, and a crypto-native company that has spent years building digital asset businesses. (hkma.gov.hk) Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue said the city is trying to build a “regulated stablecoin ecosystem,” not open the door to every token project with a white paper. In the same April 10 note, he described stablecoins as part of a broader push that also includes tokenisation and digital money infrastructure. (hkma.gov.hk) The timing also tells you what Hong Kong wants to be. The Stablecoins Bill passed Hong Kong’s legislature in May 2025, the regime went live in August 2025, and the first licences arrived eight months later, which is fast by bank-regulation standards and slow by crypto-launch standards. (news.gov.hk) (hkma.gov.hk 1) (hkma.gov.hk 2) What Hong Kong is really licensing here is the boring part crypto kept trying to skip: the cash drawer behind the token. If bank-backed issuers can prove that redemptions work, reserves are real, and compliance checks hold up, stablecoins start to look less like casino chips and more like digital cashier’s checks. (hkma.gov.hk 1) (hkma.gov.hk 2) The next test is not who gets the next licence. The next test is whether these first issuers can get people and companies to use regulated stablecoins for actual payments, trading, and cash movement without breaking the one thing the product promises: one token in, one dollar out. (hkma.gov.hk) (hkma.gov.hk)