On April 10, 2026, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority updated its Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers. For the first time since the Stablecoins Ordinance came into effect on August 1, 2025, the register is no longer blank.

Two licenses were granted:

• Anchorpoint Financial Limited: License FRS01, effective April 10, 2026
• The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC): License FRS02, effective April 10, 2026

The HKMA had set a March 2026 target for issuing the first licenses. It missed that deadline. The approvals arrived six weeks late, without a revised timeline having been communicated publicly in the interim. But they arrived.

Who Got Licensed

The two recipients represent different parts of the market.

HSBC is exactly who was expected. It participated in the HKMA’s stablecoin sandbox launched in 2024 and was widely anticipated to be among the first institutions approved. As one of Hong Kong’s three note-issuing banks, HSBC carries a level of regulatory credibility and infrastructure maturity that made its approval relatively straightforward, even if the timeline slipped.

Anchorpoint Financial Limited is the more interesting appointment. It is not a household name. Anchorpoint is a fintech-native company focused on stablecoin infrastructure in Hong Kong. Its inclusion alongside HSBC in the first wave signals that the HKMA is not reserving the regime exclusively for incumbent banks. Anchorpoint’s license number FRS01, preceding HSBC’s FRS02, suggests it may have been processed first, though both effective dates are identical.

What the HKMA Framework Requires

The Stablecoins Ordinance establishes demanding standards for licensed issuers. Key requirements include:

• 100% High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) reserve backing at all times against outstanding stablecoin supply
• Reserves held in segregated accounts, separately from the issuer’s operational assets
• Redemption at par in Hong Kong dollars on demand
• Local incorporation or substantive operations in Hong Kong
• Monthly reserve composition disclosures
• AML/CFT compliance programs

The 100% HQLA requirement is stricter than most international comparators. Eligible reserve assets are narrowly defined: HKD-denominated bank deposits at HKMA-licensed institutions, Hong Kong government bonds, and a limited set of other specified securities.

What It Means for Hong Kong

The delay from March to April matters less than the fact that licenses have now been issued. Hong Kong has crossed from a jurisdiction with a stablecoin framework on paper to one with licensed stablecoin issuers operating in its market.

The practical implications are significant. Licensed HKD-referenced stablecoins create infrastructure for on-chain payments denominated in Hong Kong dollars, tokenized asset settlement, and cross-border financial flows that can operate within a regulated framework. This was the explicit policy goal of the Stablecoins Ordinance.

For the broader Asia digital asset market, Hong Kong’s first approvals are a signal that the regulatory infrastructure being built across the region is beginning to produce operational results, not just frameworks.

What Comes Next

Two licenses is a beginning, not an endpoint. The Stablecoin Ordinance application window closed on October 31, 2025, meaning the HKMA has a queue of applications beyond Anchorpoint and HSBC to process. The pace at which additional licenses are granted will determine how competitive the Hong Kong stablecoin market becomes.

The Standard Chartered-Animoca Brands joint venture was also widely anticipated as a frontrunner. Its absence from this first wave is notable and suggests the HKMA is processing applications carefully rather than batch-approving a full first cohort.

For operators building stablecoin infrastructure for Asian markets, HK’s licensed issuer regime now provides a reference point: what compliant issuance looks like in the region’s most credible financial hub. Other Asian jurisdictions, including Taiwan and Vietnam, are watching how this framework operates in practice as they develop their own approaches.

The Sora Ventures Perspective

Sora Ventures has tracked Hong Kong’s stablecoin licensing process closely because it is directly relevant to the markets where our portfolio companies operate. Licensed HKD stablecoins create settlement infrastructure that public companies in our portfolio, several of which are listed on the HKEX, can eventually build upon.

The April 10 approvals confirm that the regulatory infrastructure is real and operational. The next question is how quickly the market develops around the initial licensees.

 

Source: HKMA Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers, April 10, 2026. hkma.gov.hk/eng/regulatory-resources/registers/register-of-licensed-stablecoin-issuers/