On 10 April 2026, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted stablecoin issuer licences under the Hong Kong Stablecoins Ordinance (Cap. 656) to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, for the issuance of stablecoins in Hong Kong. The licences took effect the same day. They are the first to be granted under the Ordinance, and they convert a regime that until now existed only as legislation and guidance into one with licensed participants. The two issuers appear on the statutory Register as licence numbers FRS01 and FRS02 respectively, each with an effective date of 10 April 2026. According to the HKMA, the licensees intend to complete the necessary preparation and launch business in the coming months.
The Stablecoins Ordinance established a licensing regime for the issuance of specified stablecoins in Hong Kong, administered by the Monetary Authority. The grants of 10 April 2026 were made under section 15(1) of the Ordinance, the provision under which the Monetary Authority licenses a person to issue specified stablecoins.
The HKMA's announcement reiterates the prohibition that gives the regime its force: a person must not carry on a regulated stablecoin activity, or hold themselves out as doing so, unless licensed for that activity. The term "regulated stablecoin activity" is defined in section 5 of the Ordinance. The combined effect is that issuance of a specified stablecoin in Hong Kong is now lawful only for the holder of a licence under section 15(1), and the population of such holders is, as at the date of the grants, two.
The statutory Register and its public function
The two licensees are recorded in the Register of Licensees under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which the HKMA maintains in accordance with section 21 of the Ordinance. The Register lists, for each licensee, the name and address of its principal place of business in Hong Kong, an electronic mail address, the licence number and the effective date. Anchorpoint Financial Limited is recorded at an address at the Standard Chartered Building, 4 to 4A Des Voeux Road Central, under licence number FRS01. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is recorded at 1 Queen's Road Central under licence number FRS02.
The regulator's framing
The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, described the grants as "an important milestone for the development of digital assets in Hong Kong." His statement located the licensing regime as one intended to provide, in his words, "an orderly operating environment for stablecoin issuers to apply innovative technologies while ensuring robust user protection and effective risk management."
(Source: https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2026/04/20260410-4/, https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/regulatory-resources/registers/register-of-licensed-stablecoin-issuers/)
