Overview
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan told WEF attendees in Davos that the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses will be granted in the coming quarter.
- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority says approvals will be stringent with a limited number of licenses in the initial phase.
- Licensed issuers must hold appropriate reserves, offer redemptions at par, segregate client funds, and comply with anti-money laundering rules.
- As of September 2025, 36 applications were filed, including a joint venture from Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and HKT, while some mainland-linked firms reportedly paused bids.
- The move sits within Hong Kong’s digital asset strategy that includes an HKMA pilot for tokenized deposits launched in November 2025 and SFC licenses for 11 trading platforms such as OSL, HashKey and Bullish.