Hong Kong Opens Stablecoin Licensing: Banks and Brokers Rush In
As Hong Kong's stablecoin licensing takes effect, banks and brokers race to apply under strict guidelines. However, regulators caution against speculative risks, urging careful evaluation of asset-backed projects.
On August 1, Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance officially came into effect. The HKMA released detailed licensing guidelines covering capital, custody, KYC, reserves, and governance requirements.
Banks Lead the Race
Top banknote-issuing banks like BOCHK and Standard Chartered are expected to apply first. They hold regulatory and institutional advantages under Hong Kong’s currency system. Each stablecoin must maintain full fiat backing under strict bank custody.
HKMA will only issue a few licenses in the first batch. Applicants must submit by September 30 to be considered. Issuers not applying within three months face shutdown by November.
Many players are preparing applications now. State-owned enterprises, sandbox firms, and fintech giants are all participating. Application success will depend on real-world use cases and sustainability.
Target scenarios include asset tokenization, cross-border payments, and crypto trading. These use cases will determine which firms get approval.
Securities firms will initially focus on stablecoin trading, custody, and consulting services. They are also exploring tokenized asset portfolio services. So far, 44 brokers have upgraded their Type 1 licenses.
Hong Kong’s top brokers are racing to secure crypto licenses now. Failure to do so risks losing competitiveness in digital finance. Major Chinese brokers like Guotai Junan and Eastmoney have already upgraded.
Regulatory Warnings
HK regulators warn of hype and speculative risks ahead. Investors must evaluate asset backing and project viability carefully. Concept tokens without substance could still re-emerge despite new rules.
Some firms are exploring CNH-backed stablecoins for cross-border payments. For Instance, China Asset Management Company (Hong Kong) launched multiple tokenized funds this year. The Hua Xia RMB Digital Currency Fund became the first on-chain offshore RMB fund. Industry experts view this as a landmark event exploring offshore RMB stablecoin possibilities.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
How much CPO demand will Nvidia Rubin Ultra generate? Bernstein: Optical value per Pod will increase fivefold
Bernstein believes that the co-packaged optics (CPO) and fiber demand driven by Nvidia's Rubin Ultra architecture will surge significantly, with the optical content per Pod rising from $1 million to $5.4 million. This will propel the size of Nvidia's optical ecosystem market to $46.8 billion by 2028 (a 91% annual increase). Although the industry faces supply bottlenecks with InP substrates, the outlook remains positive. The institution reiterates its “outperform” rating for Lumentum, Coherent, and Ciena.
UBS Q3 implements a two-way strategy with gold options, heavily invests in technology stocks, and builds positions in SK Hynix (SKHY.US)
UBS Group (UBS.US) has submitted its Q3 holdings report (13F) as of September 30, 2026.
SpaceX (SPCX.US) reportedly attempts “de-Nvidiaization” at the rack level: developing Kessel cabinets to bypass L6 compute boards, purchasing only chips
SemiAnalysis: SpaceX has developed its own Kessel cabinet, bypassing Nvidia's L6 cards to provide more options for manufacturing its own hardware.
$3.7 billion “data center power equipment prepayments” abandoned! What did "the most active buyer of gas turbines", SoftBank, see?
In the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, SoftBank reported a net loss of $7.1 billion, primarily due to a $3.7 billion impairment charge from a $9.5 billion advance payment for power generation equipment for US data centers—of which about $2.9 billion was non-refundable and effectively lost. The CFO admitted that SoftBank placed orders before the project plan was finalized, and is now conducting a comprehensive review of its procurement strategy. "The most aggressive purchaser of gas turbines has now written off the deposit in this way."
Crypto prices
More
