HKMA Grants First Stablecoin Licenses to Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC

Hong Kong's Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued its first stablecoin licenses to Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC, marking the start of the city's formal oversight regime. The two entities are among the first to be approved under Hong Kong's new regulatory framework for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers.

Anchorpoint Financial is a joint venture between Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications. HSBC's Hong Kong-based banking entity is one of the city's three note-issuing banks.

The approvals came after a missed timeline, with HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue stating in February that a small number of issuers would be licensed by March. However, no licenses were issued until now.