The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong's financial regulator, is preparing to grant its first stablecoin issuer licenses in March, according to a Reuters report.
During a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue reportedly said the regulator’s review of stablecoin license applications was nearing completion. Yue added that the initial approvals will be limited, with only a “very small number” of licenses expected to be issued in the first batch.
At a subsequent media briefing, the regulator said the assessments were focused on use cases, risk management, anti-money laundering (AML) controls and the quality of backing assets. Licensed issuers are also expected to comply with Hong Kong’s cross-border activity rules.
Cointelegraph reached out to the HKMA for more information, but had not received a response before publication.
Hong Kong goes from framework to first approvals
The Stablecoin Ordinance, which took effect last August, requires stablecoin issuers to obtain a license from the HKMA.
On Jan. 21, Hong Kong Finance Secretary Paul Chan indicated that stablecoin licenses were expected to be issued in the first quarter of 2026, in line with the special administrative region’s “same activity, same risk, same regulation” approach to crypto assets.
Yue previously said that many applicants lacked operational readiness and credible implementation plans, adding that some didn’t have the technical expertise to be stablecoin issuers.
Related: Circle targets ‘durable’ infrastructure to drive institutional stablecoin adoption
Potential applicants and market expectations
The HKMA said in October that it had received applications from 36 institutions in the first round of stablecoin licensing.
In August, Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong arm and Animoca Brands announced that they established Anchorpoint Financial Limited in Hong Kong to apply for a local stablecoin issuer license.
On Sept. 8, HSBC and the world’s largest bank by total assets, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), also signaled their intention to apply for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong.
The HKMA has not confirmed any applicants and previously warned that early licensing decisions should not be read as endorsements of specific business models.
In July 2025, the HKMA launched a public registry so users can track which entities are licensed to issue stablecoins in the region. As of Monday, the database remained empty.
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