First batch of Hong Kong stablecoin licenses to be issued? Two foreign major banks reportedly in the list, reporter seeks verification on the ground

Cailian Press, March 12 — (Reporter Guo Zishu) This year on February 25, Hong Kong SAR Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced that Hong Kong has implemented a licensing system for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, with the first licenses to be issued in March. The government and financial regulators will continue to promote licensed issuers to explore more application scenarios under compliance and risk control.

Subsequently, related rumors spread rapidly. Recently, there are reports that the first batch of stablecoin licenses will be granted to HSBC, Standard Chartered, and the local virtual asset trading platform OSL.

In response to these reports, Cailian Press reporters inquired through channels of HSBC and Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in China for verification. As of press time, no official response has been received. However, an internal source from one foreign bank told Cailian Press, “We are still waiting for official news from regulators.”

Previously available public information shows that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has received a total of 36 stablecoin license applications, involving various institutions such as Ant Group’s digital technology arm, Ant International, JD Chain Technology (Hong Kong), and Lianlian Digital. However, the number of licenses expected to be issued in the first batch is only single digits. Today, Cailian Press also inquired with several applicants about whether the first batch of licenses will be issued; all responded, “We have not heard anything for now.”

As of the time of this report, the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau’s official website shows that there are currently no licensed stablecoin issuers.

According to the 2025 “Stablecoin Ordinance,” stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong must operate under a license, with stablecoins backed 1:1 by high-quality reserve assets, and must disclose information regularly. The licensing applicants must be entities registered and established in Hong Kong, with identifiable management and physical offices. Additionally, licensed institutions are required to comply with strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements similar to traditional financial institutions.

Public information indicates that many foreign institutions have already been heavily involved in the digital asset sector. For example, Standard Chartered launched an integrated digital asset trading service for institutional clients last July. Its UK branch has launched spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum and plans to introduce non-deliverable forward contracts in the short term.

According to a senior executive from Standard Chartered previously, the bank’s digital asset trading services will operate within the framework of its regulated banking business. Standard Chartered provides digital asset custody and trading services through its corporate and investment banking divisions, as well as through Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets under Standard Chartered Ventures, and offers digital asset tokenization services via another company under Standard Chartered Ventures, Libeara.

(Reporter Guo Zishu, Cailian Press)