Overview
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued the first stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint under a strict new law, signaling a cautious, bank-led start.
- Anchorpoint, a venture backed by Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands, plans a phased launch of its Hong Kong dollar token HKDAP in the second quarter of 2026.
- Each HKDAP token will be backed one-for-one by high-quality Hong Kong dollar reserves held in segregated accounts, targeting uses like payments and tokenized asset settlement.
- HSBC says its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin will arrive in the second half of 2026 with PayMe and the HSBC HK app supporting peer-to-peer and merchant payments and in-app tokenized investing.
- In Europe, the European Central Bank endorsed shifting oversight of systemically important crypto firms to the EU markets watchdog ESMA, while warning ESMA will need more staff and that the law still faces lengthy negotiations.