HKMA Set to Grant First Stablecoin Licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered by March 24

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is preparing to award its first stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered, with approvals potentially coming by March 24, Bloomberg reports. Officials said only a limited number of licenses will be granted in this initial batch, even though about 36 companies have applied under Hong Kong's Stablecoin Ordinance, which took effect in 2025. HSBC did not join the HKMA's 2024 stablecoin pilot but has been working with local and international crypto participants, while Standard Chartered joined the pilot through a joint venture with Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom and plans to issue a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin. As part of the sandbox, the Anchorpoint joint venture has been testing stablecoins for ecommerce payments, cross-border transfers and tokenized asset trading, while OSL Group has launched USDGO, a US dollar-backed stablecoin for institutional clients.