Hong Kong is seeking to promote its credentials as a stand-out centre for digital assets. As part of this, the HKMA has built a stablecoin licencing framework, which took effect in August 2025.
Hong Kong’s central bank and regulator has granted stablecoin
issuer licences to HSBC
and a consortium, Anchorpoint Financial. The licences took effect
from 10 April.
The licensees plan to complete the preparation work and launch
business in the next few months, the Hong
Kong Monetary Authority said in a statement last Friday.
Anchorpoint Financial, formed last year, is backed by Standard
Chartered, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecom.
Hong Kong is seeking to push its credentials as a stand-out
centre for digital assets/cryptocurrencies. The Hong Kong
Monetary Authority has created a stablecoin licensing framework,
which came into force from 1 August, 2025. The government in the
city has a Digital Asset Policy 2.0 initiative. There is a
patchwork of regulations around the world. For example, in July
2025, President Donald Trump signed the “GENIUS Act”
(Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins
Act), which created a federal regulatory framework for payment
stablecoins.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a
stable value by being pegged to a reserve asset to a fiat
currency such as the US dollar or a commodity like gold. The
total market capitalisation of the world’s stablecoin market is
around $300 billion, based on various estimates seen online.
(Editor’s note: Given high levels of market volatility, such
figures should be treated carefully.)
“The granting of stablecoin issuer licences is an important
milestone for the development of digital assets in Hong Kong.
The regulatory regime provides an orderly operating
environment for stablecoin issuers to apply innovative
technologies while ensuring robust user protection and effective
risk management, which will foster the development of a healthy,
responsible, and sustainable stablecoin ecosystem,” Eddie Yue,
HKMA chief executive, said. “We look forward to the issuers
launching business according to their plans, exploring growth
opportunities while properly managing risks. We hope their
promotion of regulated stablecoins will address pain points in
financial and economic activities, create values for both
individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development
of digital assets in Hong Kong.”
The HKMA’s press release warned that “members of the public
should stay vigilant to fraudulent activities or scams that are
purported to be associated with the licencees or their stablecoin
issuance…when acquiring or using stablecoins, the public is
reminded to do so only through regulated channels.”
Among recent developments, in early
February Bahrain-regulated Singapore Gulf Bank said it had
created a bank-operated network that brings the US dollar and
stablecoins together in one regulated platform.
In October 2025, this news service spoke
to AMINA Bank, a
Switzerland-headquartered digital assets specialist firm, about
its views on topics including Hong Kong’s regulatory
developments.
See
an article from 2022 that gives an overview of the whole
“digital assets” space.
