Hong Kong regulators are reportedly preparing to grant the city’s first stablecoin licences, with HSBC, Anchorpoint and OSL Group among the three institutions shortlisted.
The approvals would mark the first licencing round under Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance, which took effect in August and created a regulatory framework for issuing fiat-backed stablecoins in the city.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is expected to announce the initial licences as early as next week following the conclusion of China’s Two Sessions parliamentary meetings.
Anchorpoint — a joint venture involving Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications — has been active in the regulator’s sandbox since 2024 testing stablecoin use cases.
The project has explored applications including cross-border payments, e-commerce settlements and tokenised asset trading, with plans previously announced for a Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin.
OSL Group adds a crypto-native participant to the shortlist after launching USDGO, a US-dollar denominated institutional stablecoin earlier this year.
Mainland Chinese technology companies including Ant Group and JD.com are absent from the reported shortlist after suspending Hong Kong stablecoin plans amid tighter regulatory scrutiny from Beijing.