The Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted its first two stablecoin issuer licenses on 10 April 2026, choosing HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial from 36 applications. Both recipients sit at the center of Hong Kong's banking system, and the approval rate for the first round came to under six percent. Anyone assessing Hong Kong as a stablecoin base should read that number first and plan accordingly. Equilex advises on payment and fintech licensing in Hong Kong and on the routes available to firms outside the banking tier.
What the Stablecoins Ordinance Covers
The Legislative Council passed the Stablecoins Bill on 21 May 2025 and the Ordinance came into force on 1 August 2025. It created a mandatory licensing regime for anyone issuing a fiat-referenced stablecoin in Hong Kong, or issuing a stablecoin referenced to the Hong Kong dollar anywhere in the world.
The perimeter reaches further than most firms expect. An issuer based outside Hong Kong that pegs a token to the Hong Kong dollar falls inside the regime, and so does a firm that actively markets a fiat-referenced stablecoin to the Hong Kong public. The Ordinance also makes it a criminal offense to claim falsely that a firm holds a license or has applied for one.
The application window for the first round closed on 30 September 2025. The HKMA has not announced a second window, and firms watching for one should track the Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers, which the authority maintains publicly.
Two Licenses from Thirty-Six Applications
HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue told a Legislative Council meeting in February 2026 that the first batch of licenses would not be large. The outcome proved him right by a wider margin than applicants expected.
Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture between Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands, received FRS01. HSBC received FRS02. Both licenses took effect immediately and both firms appear on the public register.
HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of the three commercial banks authorized to issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes. The HKMA started with the institutions that already carry that responsibility, which tells applicants more about the regime than any published criterion does. The authority had internally targeted March 2026 and announced in April, so the six-week slip matters less than the selectivity.
Both licensees plan to launch their Hong Kong dollar stablecoins during the second half of 2026, with Anchorpoint phasing in a business-to-business-to-consumer distribution model through authorized partners.
What the HKMA Requires
An applicant that is not already an authorized institution incorporates in Hong Kong or establishes a Hong Kong subsidiary to act as the applicant entity. Paid-up share capital starts at HK$25 million, and the HKMA can accept an equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency or other financial resources it recognizes.
Reserve management sits at the center of the assessment. For each type of stablecoin issued, the issuer maintains a separate and segregated pool of reserve assets and enters written custodial arrangements with a qualified custodian. Holders must be able to redeem at par, and the redemption mechanism forms part of what the HKMA reviews.
Beyond the balance sheet, applicants demonstrate governance, risk management, financial crime controls and the technology behind issuance and redemption. The sandbox that ran from July 2024 gave a small group of firms a controlled environment to test these arrangements, and participation in it did not guarantee a license.
The reserve requirement carries a practical consequence that applicants underestimate. Segregation per stablecoin type means a firm planning several pegged tokens runs several reserve pools, several custodial relationships and several sets of reporting. The operating cost of the regime scales with the product range, so a narrow initial product line makes both the application and the first year easier to manage.
The AML Rules That Set Hong Kong Apart
Licensed Hong Kong stablecoins work differently from freely circulating tokens, and this feature deserves attention before anyone models a business around them.
Under the HKMA's anti-money-laundering guidance, a licensed stablecoin moves only to wallets whose owners have been identity-verified. The travel rule applies to transfers above HK$8,000, roughly one thousand US dollars. In practice, issuers embed these checks in the token itself and restrict transfers to whitelisted addresses.
A token that can only reach verified wallets serves different use cases from one that circulates freely. Payment flows between known counterparties work well. Open decentralised finance composability does not. Firms planning to build on a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin should design for the first case.
The HKMA paired its licensing announcement with a warning about scams claiming association with the new licensees. Platforms listing or distributing stablecoins need a process for verifying that an instrument comes from a licensed issuer, and the public register is the tool for that.
If You Are Not a Bank
For most firms reading this, a stablecoin issuer license in Hong Kong is not the near-term route. Two licenses from thirty-six applications, both to note-issuing banks, sets a bar that a crypto-native startup will struggle to clear in the current round.
Hong Kong still offers two workable licenses for firms in payments and digital assets. A Money Service Operator license from Customs and Excise covers money changing and remittance, and it supports payment businesses that move fiat in and out of Hong Kong. A Virtual Asset Trading Platform license from the Securities and Futures Commission covers exchange operations. Neither permits stablecoin issuance, and both reach markets that issuance alone does not.
A second route runs through distribution. The licensees have signaled partner models, so firms with customer reach can build on a licensed token instead of issuing one, and that arrangement carries a lighter regulatory load. Regulators elsewhere are drawing the same line between issuing and distributing, as ASIC's move to widen its stablecoin distribution exemption shows.
Groups with a longer horizon can also treat the first round as information. The HKMA published what it expects, granted licenses to institutions that already met those expectations, and left the register open for later entrants. A firm that spends the next two years building reserve management, custody relationships and a compliance record applies from a different position than one that applied in 2025 on ambition alone.
If you are weighing Hong Kong against other jurisdictions or deciding which Hong Kong license fits your model, schedule a call with the Equilex licensing team to map your activities against the available routes.
Hong Kong Compared with Other Stablecoin Regimes
Three major jurisdictions now license fiat-backed stablecoin issuance, and they differ in who can qualify.
In the European Union, MiCA treats fiat-backed tokens as e-money tokens, and only credit institutions and authorized electronic money institutions may issue them. That makes an EMI license in Malta or another member state the practical entry point, and it opens the door to firms outside the banking tier. Exchanges have already taken that route, as Gate's Malta payments license for fiat and stablecoin activity shows.
In the United States, the GENIUS Act restricts payment stablecoin issuance to permitted issuers from 18 January 2027, with federal and state pathways under development.
Hong Kong sits at the strictest end for now. The framework is complete, the register is live and the requirements are published, but the first round showed the authority prioritising institutions with existing systemic roles. Firms that need access more than prestige will find the European route more open at this stage. Within Asia, Singapore's tax treatment of crypto businesses is the other factor groups weigh alongside licensing when they pick a regional base. Our guide to the best countries to get a crypto license in 2026 sets out the wider comparison.
FAQ
How many stablecoin licenses has Hong Kong granted?
Two. The HKMA granted licenses to Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC on 10 April 2026, selecting them from 36 formal applications submitted by the 30 September 2025 deadline. Both appear on the public Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers as FRS01 and FRS02 respectively.
What capital does a Hong Kong stablecoin license require?
Paid-up share capital starts at HK$25 million, or an equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency, or other financial resources the HKMA recognizes. Applicants that are not already authorized institutions must incorporate in Hong Kong or establish a Hong Kong subsidiary to hold the license.
Can a foreign company issue a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin?
Only with an HKMA license. The Ordinance reaches issuers outside Hong Kong that reference their token to the Hong Kong dollar, and firms marketing fiat-referenced stablecoins to the Hong Kong public. Offshore issuance of an HKD-pegged token without a license breaches the Ordinance.
Is the application window still open?
The first round closed on 30 September 2025 and the HKMA has not announced a second window. Firms preparing to apply should build their reserve, custody and compliance arrangements now and monitor the HKMA register and announcements, because preparation takes far longer than any application period.
What can I do in Hong Kong without a stablecoin license?
A Money Service Operator license covers money changing and remittance, and a Virtual Asset Trading Platform license from the SFC covers exchange operations. Firms can also distribute a licensed issuer's stablecoin under partnership arrangements, which carries lighter regulatory obligations than issuance.
