Global banks with a presence in Hong Kong could be receiving stablecoin licenses, as per a report by the South China Morning Post on Thursday.
Standard Chartered and HSBC are reportedly first in line among banks in the country to be recognized as stablecoin issuers, exclusive sources told the Hong Kong daily. The supposed timeline for these licenses is two weeks.
The update comes amid increasing adoption of stablecoins among banks and financial institutions globally, which view the integration as a suitable one to have, as it allows for easy settlement of transactions between fiat and cryptocurrency and can be used for other purposes as well.
“Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licenses appear to be going to global banks that are already active in tokenized finance, which suggests the framework is being designed to plug stablecoins into a broader institutional infrastructure rather than crypto trading markets,” said Digital assets consultant Lavneet Bansal.
“Banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered are already experimenting with tokenized deposits, digital bonds and real-time treasury systems, so stablecoins could become the liquidity layer connecting these tokenized assets. In that sense, the story isn’t just about stablecoin issuance, it’s about building programmable money for tokenized financial markets,”
Hong Kong has been viewed as a cryptocurrency hub in league with cities such as Dubai, Singapore, and South Korea.
In 2025, Hong Kong was considered Asia’s most cryptocurrency-friendly city, ranked in second place in Multipolitan’s Crypto Friendly Cities Index 2025.
The country has comprehensive stablecoin rails in place for companies interested in its integration, and an active list of registered cryptocurrency firms with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.
As of now, 12 entities have been registered with the SFC as licensed virtual asset companies, including cryptocurrency exchanges such as Bullish and HashKey.