Hong Kong gets its first licensed stablecoin issuers
Anchorpoint and HSBC became the first HKMA-licensed stablecoin issuers on 10 April 2026, listed as FRS01 and FRS02. That moves Hong Kong into named licensed issuance, but not yet into proven live circulation, merchant breadth or settlement scale.
Key takeaways
- • Hong Kong now has named, effective stablecoin issuer licences under the HKMA.
- • The public evidence still points to licensed prelaunch rather than a live operating market.
Trigger
HKMA grants first stablecoin issuer licences
On 10 April 2026, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted the first stablecoin issuer licences under the Stablecoins Ordinance to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, with both licences effective the same day and listed publicly as FRS01 and FRS02.
SourceSN Desk view
The hard change is regulatory. On 10 April 2026, HKMA granted its first stablecoin issuer licences under the Stablecoins Ordinance. The public register lists Anchorpoint Financial as FRS01 and HSBC as FRS02, both effective the same day.
That moves Hong Kong beyond framework design and sandbox preparation into named licensed issuance. HKMA's same-day insight note shows how narrow that opening still is. The authority reviewed 36 first-batch applications, approved only two issuers, and said any further licences are likely to remain very limited. Issuer disclosures sketch the launch paths, but they do not yet prove a live market. Anchorpoint says HKDAP will roll out in phases from Q2 2026 through selected authorised distributors for tokenised real-world-asset settlement and cross-border capital and payment flows. HSBC says its HKD stablecoin is planned for the second half of 2026 in PayMe and the HSBC HK App, with some uses still subject to further approvals. HKMA says both issuers still need to complete technology testing, risk-control implementation, and staffing before launch. The right read is licensed prelaunch, not proven circulation, merchant scale, distributor breadth, or settlement volume.