The most revealing fact about Hong Kong’s stablecoin launch is not that licences were issued. It is who got them, and who did not. By handing the first approvals to HSBC and the Standard Chartered-led joint venture Anchorpoint Financial, regulators made clear from the start that digital money in Hong Kong will be bank-led. That…
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivers a speech at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 on April 20, 2026. (PHOTO/HKSAR GOVT) Hong Kong is taking the lead in encouraging more tokenization as the city embraces innovation and new technologies to bolster its status as an international financial center, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on…
HSBC and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered are expected to be among the first companies to obtain Hong Kong’s stablecoin licences within two weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. The number of licences and timetable had yet to be finalised and remained subject to change, but sources said a possible date…
A stablecoin logo displayed on a smartphone. – McDonnell // Shutterstock If you’ve ever sent money through Western Union, paid with a Visa card while traveling, or waited days for an electronic payment to settle, you’ve already used the systems known as “payment rails” that move money globally between friends, families and businesses. Now, banks…
Hong Kong authorities are moving toward issuing the city’s first stablecoin licenses, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority targeting March for an initial round. Market expectations, however, have been carefully managed. Based on regulatory signals and industry briefings, the first batch is widely expected to be limited, likely to no more than three to five…
When Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan addressed stablecoins at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, the significance of his remarks lay not in grand ambition but in their restraint. There were no sweeping claims about reshaping global finance, nor statements framing stablecoins as a challenge to existing monetary systems. Instead, Chan outlined something…
Hong Kong’s finance chief has promoted the city’s regulatory regime for digital assets as “responsible and sustainable” at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. Delivering opening remarks at a closed-door workshop on Tuesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said finance and technology were “mutually reinforcing”, but a balanced approach was needed to support their…
The initial public offering (IPO) of HashKey Holdings, operator of Hong Kong’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, lays bare challenges faced by local platforms under Beijing’s watchful eye, even though the listing itself was recognition of the growing influence of digital assets in the city, according to analysts. HashKey, established in Hong Kong in 2018, on Monday…
Hong Kong’s connectivity and talent pool could help facilitate international legal and economic collaboration, the justice minister and an expert have said, as they joined representatives from more than 25 jurisdictions this week at an annual forum in the city. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the five-day Hong Kong Legal Week forum on Monday,…
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) cautioned investors that no stablecoins pegged to the offshore yuan had been approved for issuance in the city, as regulators sought to temper the frenzy surrounding digital assets. In a statement published on WeChat on Wednesday, the HKMA refuted claims circulating on social media that the first offshore yuan-pegged…