{"id":172,"date":"2026-02-02T14:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/?p=172"},"modified":"2026-02-02T14:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:10:12","slug":"hong-kong-set-to-launch-initial-stablecoin-licenses-in-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/?p=172","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong Set to Launch Initial Stablecoin Licenses in March 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <strong>Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)<\/strong> is entering the final stages of its regulatory review, with the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses expected to be granted this March. According to reports from a Legislative Council meeting held on Monday, the selection process remains highly exclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Stringent Selection Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>HKMA Chief Executive <strong>Eddie Yue<\/strong> emphasized that the regulator will maintain a conservative approach during the debut phase. Only a <strong>&#8220;very small number&#8221;<\/strong> of institutions are expected to receive approval in the initial round. The HKMA&#8217;s evaluation criteria are rigorous, focusing on four primary pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use Case Viability:<\/strong> Practical applications for the stablecoin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk Management &amp; AML:<\/strong> Robust anti-money laundering protocols and internal controls.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Asset Quality:<\/strong> The transparency and stability of the underlying reserves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cross-Border Compliance:<\/strong> Adherence to international activity regulations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From Regulation to Reality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The &#8220;Stablecoin Ordinance,&#8221; which became law in August 2025, established a formal framework for digital assets in the region. Finance Secretary <strong>Paul Chan<\/strong> previously signaled that the first quarter of 2026 would be the turning point for the &#8220;same activity, same risk, same regulation&#8221; policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite receiving <strong>36 applications<\/strong> in the first round, Yue noted that many candidates were disqualified due to a lack of technical expertise, operational readiness, or credible long-term business plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Contenders in the Pipeline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While the HKMA maintains a public registry that currently remains empty, several high-profile partnerships have signaled their intent to enter the market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Standard Chartered &amp; Animoca Brands:<\/strong> Collaborating through their venture, <em>Anchorpoint Financial<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HSBC &amp; ICBC:<\/strong> Two of the world\u2019s largest banking institutions have expressed interest in obtaining local licenses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The HKMA has cautioned that the issuance of these licenses should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any specific company or business model, but rather as a certification of regulatory compliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is entering the final stages of its regulatory review, with the first<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stblock.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}