HSBC and Standard Chartered seen as front-runners for Hong Kong's first HKD stablecoin licenses among 36 applicants

Hong Kong regulators are moving toward granting the city's first licenses for Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin issuers, with HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc seen as likely candidates among 36 applicants under a new Hong Kong Monetary Authority framework, reports citing HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue and other officials said. The regime requires all issuers to obtain authorization from the HKMA, which plans to approve only a limited number of projects that demonstrate clear use cases, sustainable business models, strong capital reserves and established safety records, while Financial Secretary Paul Chan indicated during his 2026-2027 budget speech that first approvals could come around March. Bloomberg sources said regulators favor bank-led issuers to support wider market adoption, align with Basel crypto standards on anti-money laundering and leverage existing oversight of banks that already issue Hong Kong's physical banknotes, though Standard Chartered declined to comment, HSBC did not respond to inquiries and the HKMA said it does not comment on market speculation. The licensing framework builds on a stablecoin sandbox program launched in 2024, where participants included a joint venture involving Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications, as well as JD Technology linked to JD.com and RD Technologies, a startup founded by a former HKMA chief executive that raised $40 million last year.