HKMA to grant first stablecoin licences in March after 36 applications
Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority (HKMA) plans to issue the first Stablecoin Issuer Licences in March, selecting from 36 completed applications filed before the August 1, 2025 deadline. HKMA chief Eddie Yue told the legislature the regulator expects to grant a “very small number” of licences as applicants complete compliance checks; no firms or exact dates were named. Known applicants include the Animoca Brands–Standard Chartered joint venture Anchorpoint Financial Limited. The licensing move is part of wider Hong Kong crypto reforms: the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) are tightening custody rules to bring OTC desks, brokers and custodians under stricter oversight, and the SFC has issued tougher expectations for licensed virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). The HKMA’s roadmap also covers AI, tokenisation, data infrastructure and resilience. Traders should watch approved stablecoins closely — approvals could shift liquidity, affect fiat on‑ramps/off‑ramps, change stablecoin market share within Hong Kong, and influence institutional participation and trading volume in the city’s digital asset market.
Neutral
The news is neutral for price action of any specific cryptocurrency mentioned because it concerns regulatory infrastructure rather than announcement of a new coin or token launch with immediate tokenomics. Issuing a small number of licensed stablecoins can increase institutional confidence and improve on‑ramps/off‑ramps and liquidity in Hong Kong over time, which is a bullish structural factor for stablecoin usage and local market participation. However, the HKMA’s cautious, phased approach and expectation of only a very small number of approvals limit any near‑term market shock or large flows that would move prices sharply. Short term: likely low volatility as approvals are limited and incremental. Medium/long term: potential gradual increase in institutional flows, improved fiat rails and stablecoin market share in Hong Kong, which could support trading volumes and demand for regulated stablecoins. Traders should monitor which entities are approved, custody arrangements, reserve audits and AML controls — these details will determine how much liquidity and market share approved stablecoins capture.