Hong Kong Set to Issue First Stablecoin Licenses in Q1 2026

Hong Kong volition contented a batch of licenses to stablecoin providers successful the archetypal 4th of this year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan told World Economic Forum attendees successful Davos connected Tuesday.

This volition beryllium the archetypal issued since Hong Kong’s caller stablecoin licensing authorities took effect connected August 1 past year.

Hong Kong Kicks Off Stablecoin Licensing Regime With Eye connected Global Hub

Companies offering oregon selling stablecoins to retail investors indispensable get support from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The process includes gathering compliance requirements astir reserve assets, redemptions astatine par value, segregation of lawsuit funds and pursuing anti-money laundering rules.

Regulators person not disclosed which companies volition beryllium among the archetypal batch of licensed stablecoin providers. As of September 2025, 36 companies person applied, according to section paper The Standard.

Among the known applicants is simply a associated task betwixt Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and HKT. Ant Group’s Alipay and Chinese e-commerce elephantine JD.com were besides portion of an earlier stablecoin sandbox, but were reportedly told by mainland authorities to suspend their attempts for licensing successful Hong Kong.

Chan’s sojourn to Davos is portion of a wider propulsion to rise Hong Kong’s illustration arsenic a fintech hub. Chan described Hong Kong’s attack to integer assets arsenic “proactive yet prudent”.

“Financial innovations, specified arsenic integer assets, not lone heighten transparency, efficiency, inclusiveness and hazard absorption successful fiscal services, but besides facilitate much effectual superior allocation to the existent economy,” helium said.

Interest successful stablecoins has ramped up globally. With a marketplace headdress of $309 billion, according to DefiLlama, the exertion has attracted the involvement of concern giants from JP Morgan and Bank of America to Paypal and Visa.

Within the crypto industry, determination person been calls from the likes of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for “better decentralized stablecoins” that are much resilient and little babelike connected the dollar.

Crypto Needs 'Better Decentralized Stablecoins', Says Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin

Paul Faecks, CEO of Plasma, told Decrypt that the absorption for processing the stablecoin manufacture should beryllium connected “creating open, neutral rails that anyone tin physique on, portion inactive being robust capable to powerfulness planetary payments for mundane radical and retailers”.

“As the stablecoin abstraction continues to grow, mature, and summation organization acceptance, the existent user and retail applications for the exertion volition beryllium unlocked, and it volition go highly applicable successful day-to-day beingness for millions of people,” helium said.