Hong Kong has not granted any licenses for HKD stablecoins following the March deadline.

Officials indicated March for initial approvals, but licensing has yet to commence with no revised timeline

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po Speaks at Consensus Hong Kong (David Paul Morris/CoinDesk)

Key points:

• Hong Kong has not met its self-established March deadline to grant licenses for Hong Kong dollar stablecoin issuers, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority yet to approve any applications.
• This postponement occurs despite earlier commitments from officials indicating that licensing would commence in March, prompting inquiries about the speed at which Hong Kong’s stablecoin framework will transition from policy to execution.
• Significant institutions such as HSBC and a joint venture between Standard Chartered and Animoca have been identified as potential early recipients of licenses, highlighting the close relationship between the new stablecoin framework and Hong Kong’s current note-issuing monetary system.

Hong Kong has not achieved its own March target for HKD stablecoin licensing, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) still to approve any issuers despite public indications that the rollout would initiate last month.

At Consensus Hong Kong in February, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated that licenses would start being issued in March as part of the city’s initiative to establish itself as a regulated center for stablecoins and tokenized finance. The absence of approvals thus far extends that timeline into April and raises concerns regarding how swiftly the framework will progress from policy to realization.

(HKMA Register of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers as of April 1, 2026)

"In granting our licenses, we ensure that licensees possess innovative use cases, a credible and sustainable business model, and robust regulatory compliance capabilities," he stated at CoinDesk’s Hong Kong conference.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported in March that HSBC and a collaboration between Standard Chartered and Animoca were anticipated to be among the initial recipients of stablecoin licenses.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of the city’s note-issuing banks, a designation that connects them directly to the framework for issuing the Hong Kong dollar and emphasizes the close association between the stablecoin framework and existing monetary infrastructure.

This system, which has its origins in 1846 when private banks began to issue currency backed by silver deposits in the absence of a central colonial bank, continues to be relevant today.

Currently, each note-issuing bank deposits U.S. dollars with the government’s Exchange Fund at a fixed rate of HK$7.80 per dollar and receives Certificates of Indebtedness in exchange, which allow them to print banknotes.

HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue drew a parallel in a December 2023 blog entry.

Pre-1935 banknotes issued by commercial banks in exchange for deposited silver were a form of "private money," Yue wrote, and stablecoins serve as their blockchain-based equivalent — tokens that maintain a stable value and can function as a medium of exchange on-chain.

An HKMA representative did not provide a reason for the delay.

"The HKMA is proactively advancing the licensing issue and will disclose additional details in due time," a spokesperson informed CoinDesk.