Hong Kong's stablecoin licences: what the HKMA requires of issuers
The Stablecoins Ordinance has applied since August 2025 and two issuers were licensed in April 2026. Reserves, redemption and what it means for holders.
If you hold, accept or plan to pay with stablecoins in Hong Kong, the city now separates licensed fiat-referenced stablecoins from everything else. Licensed coins come with rules on reserves, redemption at par and published attestations. Your treasury policy, counterparty assessment and audit evidence can all use those rules.
The law and the first licences
The Stablecoins Ordinance (Cap. 656) took effect on 1 August 2025 [1]. Anyone issuing a fiat-referenced stablecoin in Hong Kong, or issuing a Hong Kong dollar-referenced stablecoin from outside Hong Kong, needs a licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) [1]. Only licensed issuers' fiat-referenced stablecoins may be offered to retail customers [1]. The HKMA's regime page lists a minimum capital requirement of HK$25 million for issuers [1].
On 10 April 2026 the HKMA granted the first two issuer licences, effective that day [2]. They went to Anchorpoint Financial Limited, a joint venture of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands, and to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) [2][5]. The public register lists them as licences FRS01 and FRS02 [3]. The HKMA's April announcement said both planned to launch business within a few months [2].
In a June 2026 reply to the Legislative Council, the government said there had been 36 applications. It said the bar for licensing would stay high, that any further licences would be very limited in number, and that regulated stablecoins could launch as early as mid-2026 [5]. As of October 2026 we have not confirmed from an official source whether either issuer has launched a coin, so check the issuer and the HKMA register before relying on one.
What an issuer must do
The HKMA's Guideline on Supervision of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers sets out the detail [4]. The points most relevant to a holder are:
- Full backing. The market value of the reserve pool for each stablecoin must at all times be at least equal to the par value of the coins in circulation [4].
- Eligible reserves. Reserves can be cash, bank deposits with a term of up to three months, high-quality government or similar debt with up to one year left to maturity, overnight reverse repos backed by such debt, and dedicated funds that hold only these assets [4]. Tokenised forms of eligible assets can qualify if the issuer shows they are high quality and liquid [4].
- Same currency. Reserves should normally be held in the currency the stablecoin references, unless the HKMA approves otherwise [4].
- Segregation. Reserves must be segregated from the issuer's own assets through an effective trust arrangement, supported by an independent legal opinion [4].
- No interest. The issuer may not pay holders interest or interest-like incentives [4].
- Transparency. Issuers must prepare daily statements of coins outstanding and reserves, report weekly and publish the figures on their website [4]. An independent auditor must attest regularly to reserve value, composition and adequacy, both at period end and on at least one randomly chosen day, and the reports are published [4].
- Redemption at par. Holders have a right to redeem at par, and valid requests should normally be processed within one business day of receipt, with no unreasonable fees or unduly burdensome conditions [4]. If the issuer becomes insolvent, holders can direct the sale of the reserve pool and claim against the issuer for any shortfall [4].
- Coins in circulation at period end: 500,000,000 HKD stablecoins, par value HK$500,000,000
- Reserves at market value: cash HK$60m + deposits HK$140m + government bills HK$302m = HK$502m
- Check 1: reserves of HK$502m are at least par of HK$500m, so the pool is fully backed
- Check 2: every asset type is on the eligible list and in HKD, so no currency mismatch
- Check 3: the random-day test in the same report also passed
- Figures are illustrative, not from any issuer.
Licensed versus everything else
The government has said that only regulated entities may sell stablecoins to the public, and that the Ordinance's protection applies only to regulated stablecoins bought through regulated entities [6]. It also acknowledged that retail users still reach offshore stablecoins through various channels outside that protection [6]. It plans legislation in 2026 for virtual asset dealing, custody, advisory and management services [6].
What it means for your books
The Ordinance does not set accounting treatment. It does give holders of licensed coins specific contractual and statutory rights: redemption at par, reserves held on trust, and a claim against the issuer for any shortfall [4]. Any analysis under HKFRS or IFRS of how to classify and measure a stablecoin should start from those rights, and that is a judgement to agree with your auditor. Two coins pegged to the same currency can carry very different credit and redemption risk depending on who issues them and under which regime.
What to do
- Before accepting a stablecoin as HKD-equivalent, check that the issuer appears on the HKMA register of licensed issuers.
- Save each issuer's published attestation reports and weekly reserve disclosures as period-end audit evidence.
- Update your treasury policy to set different limits for licensed and unlicensed stablecoins, and record the reasoning.
- Record the redemption terms you rely on (par, timing, fees) and test them once with a small redemption if you hold material balances.
- Be wary of tokens that claim a link to a licensed issuer; the HKMA has warned about scams using licensees' names [2].
- Watch for the 2026 bill on virtual asset dealing and custody, which may affect the providers you use.
Sources
- Regulatory Regime for Stablecoin Issuers (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)
- Granting of stablecoin issuer licences (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)
- Register of Licensees under the Stablecoins Ordinance (Cap. 656) (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)
- Stablecoins Ordinance: Guideline on Supervision of Licensed Stablecoin Issuers (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)
- LCQ6: Development and regulation of stablecoins (Hong Kong SAR Government (info.gov.hk))
- LCQ11: Management of stablecoins (Hong Kong SAR Government (info.gov.hk))
General information for finance teams, current as of publication. Not legal, tax or accounting advice.