Hong Kong Grants Its First Two Stablecoin Licenses

As the US debates legislation to normalize crypto, China isn’t sitting still. Today, Hong Kong granted its first stablecoin licenses, with HSBC and Standard Chartered JV grabbing the coveted permission.

Hong Kong has granted stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC Holdings and Anchorpoint Financial, which is a joint venture between Standard Chartered, HKT, and Animoca Brands.

This is a meaningful signal that Hong Kong, despite China’s on-again off-again relationship to crypto, seeks to become a regulated hub for stablecoins. These formal licenses set guidelines for reserve requirements, audits and other regulations aimed at consumer protection, bringing the wild west of crypto into something looking more like traditional banking.

As more and more trades and cross-border payments are undergirded by stablecoins, countries are moving quickly to establish regulatory frameworks that will favor those settlements taking place within their financial ecosystems.

China has banned nearly all crypto activity on its mainland. But the quasi-independence of Hong Kong allows them to put a toe in these important waters without upending the mainland’s ban.

The move by Hong Kong will surely apply even more pressure to the US to act. Modern Consensus reported yesterday that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already been pressuring the Senate to approve the Clarity Act. What’s at stake here is nothing less than the future of how money moves throughout the globe. China is unwilling to sit totally on the sidelines and the US risks its position if it cannot achieve regulatory clarity.

HSBC’s ties to Hong Kong as so strong that ten years ago the London-based bank considered moving its headquarters to the former British colony, which is now firmly back in Beijing’s control.