Hong Kong Stablecoin: The jurisdiction has taken a decisive step toward becoming a global digital asset hub, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granting its first ever stablecoin issuer licences on April 10, 2026. The first two licences have gone to Anchorpoint Financial (a joint venture combining the banking system of Standard Chartered, the telecommunications of HKT, and the Web3 knowledge of Animoca Brands), as well as HSBC.
What the Licences Enable
Anchorpoint will be able to issue HKDAP (“HKD At Par”), which will be a regulated stablecoin that is fully backed at a 1:1 ratio by segregated Hong Kong dollar cash deposits. It plans an incremental rollout beginning in Q2 2026 and will leverage a Business-to-Business-to-Consumer (B2B2C) model whereby HKDAP will be available to consumers through permitted distributors (including from Standard Chartered’s wider client base). The main use of HKDAP will be for the settlement of tokenised Real World Assets (RWAs), for cross-border payments, and for capital flows throughout Asia.
Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters described the issuance of the first licence as a meaningful step towards “rewiring our financial markets”, as we get “closer to a world where assets are natively digital, transparent and settled instantaneously.” Anchorpoint’s CEO, Dominic Maffei, described the business model as “rethinking how we conduct financial transactions” and building new infrastructure for both institutions and individuals.
Why This is Important to Asia
On August 1, 2025, Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance came into effect to create a regulatory structure for fiat-backed stablecoins. The first licenses also show that Hong Kong can attract to its shores top-tier global banks issuing regulated digital cash to compete with Singapore, Dubai, and the European Union’s MiCA regime. For the crypto ecosystem in the Asian decentralized finance (DeFi) and RWAs’ tokenized trading spaces, a regulated HKD stablecoin provides a credible on-ramp and settlement vehicle without having to rely on unregulated offshore competition.
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. 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.” – Mr Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA
What Comes Next
Anchorpoint will be focused on co-developing use-cases with early adopters, especially around tokenized asset settlement payments and cross-border transactions. The HKMA has also signaled it will continue to issue additional stablecoin issuer licenses, with several timely applicants still being reviewed, including major fintechs and consortia.
