One of the world’s largest banking and financial services conglomerate, HSBC aims to launch a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin in the second half of 2026, with new crypto-issuing capabilities brought by the HKMA license.
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The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has granted the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, with a stablecoin issuer licence.
Effective since April 10, the license provides the global bank with vast presence in Asia, especially Hong Kong and China, with an opportunity to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong, once it completes the necessary preparation work. At present, there are only two entities officially registered for the stablecoin issuance under HKMA jurisdiction. Besides HSBC subsidiary, the regulator has granted similar license only to Anchorpoint Financial Limited.
HKMA is famous for its bold vision when it comes to fintech innovations. It envisions Hong Kong’s financial ecosystem designed for a world shaped by artificial intelligence, data sharing, tokenisation, and even quantum computing. Furthermore, the Monetary Authority firmly believes stablecoins will be an important component of local payment landscape in the near future:
“The granting of stablecoin issuer licences is an important milestone for the development of digital assets in Hong Kong. The regulatory regime provides an orderly operating environment for stablecoin issuers to apply innovative technologies while ensuring robust user protection and effective risk management, which will foster the development of a healthy, responsible, and sustainable stablecoin ecosystem. We look forward to the issuers launching business according to their plans, exploring growth opportunities while properly managing risks. We hope their promotion of regulated stablecoins will address pain points in financial and economic activities, create values for both individuals and businesses, and support the healthy development of digital assets in Hong Kong.”
Mr Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA
As for the licensee’s plans, HSBC says it is ready to launch a Hong Kong dollar (HKD) denominated stablecoin already in the second half of 2026. The planned digital asset is going to be seamlessly incorporated into HSBC’s widely used digital platforms: PayMe and the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App (HSBC HK App). The first one has 3.3 million users and the second does not publicly disclose an exact total user number, but brags 20% year-on-year growth in active users after a major refresh. Before that update, the app boasted 2.2 million monthly active mobile users, so with estimated double-digit growth continuing into 2025, its active customer base may near 2.8 million approximately. These numbers are impressive, considering Hong Kong only has 7.5 million people in its population records.
In the initial rollout phase, HSBC considers the following stablecoin use cases for its retail customers and merchant partners:
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Payments via PayMe and HSBC HK App.
- Peer-to-Merchant (P2M) Payments: direct payments to participating merchants via PayMe.
- Tokenised Investments: subscribtions to tokenised investments using stablecoins via HSBC HK App.
Tokenised investments might be of particular interest to local users, as nearly one in four Hong Kong adults plan to hold virtual assets in the future. Besides, HSBC is already testing some of the underlying infrastructure. Just today, the bank completed its tokenized deposit pilot on the Canton Network, supporting simulated issuing, moving and real-time settlement in USD, HKD, and more. At the same time, the financial institution still needs some regulatory approvals for the latter use case.
“By integrating stablecoins into how our apps are used to pay and invest, HSBC is helping customers participate confidently in the future of digital finance and realise the benefits it can deliver.”
Maggie Ng, CEO Hong Kong at HSBC
