Hong Kong's financial regulator granted its first two stablecoin licenses on Apr. 10, approving HSBC and a joint venture backed by Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom.

HKMA Approves Two From 36 Applicants

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority selected Anchorpoint Financial Limited — the Standard Chartered-led joint venture — and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation as registered stablecoin issuers.

Both secured approval under the Stablecoins Ordinance, a licensing framework enacted in Aug. 2025 for fiat-tied digital currencies.

The regulator received 36 applications in total. HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue had warned in February that only a "very small number" of licenses would come through in the initial round. He originally targeted March for the first batch, but the timeline slipped.

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Stablecoin Regulation Gains Global Traction

The two approved institutions now hold a first-mover advantage in Hong Kong's regulated stablecoin market.

Their head start comes at a time when governments worldwide have moved to formalize rules around fiat-pegged tokens, including the GENIUS Act signed into law in the United States by President Donald Trump.

Despite a broader downturn in digital assets, the stablecoin sector has held up. Data shows the combined stablecoin market cap has traded sideways near all-time highs since Q4 2025. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped more than 42% over the same stretch.

USDT and USDC Still Dominate

Two U.S. dollar-pegged assets — USDT (USDT) and USDC (USDC) — still account for the vast majority of total stablecoin supply. A euro-pegged token initiative from a consortium of major European banks could challenge that concentration. How much the competitive landscape shifts, though, remains an open question.

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