NewsFlash Articles Data Fundraising BlockBeats Pro

Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin 'Mass Exodus'

Read this article in 17 Minutes

After the initial batch of licenses was issued, Standard Chartered and HSBC displayed divergent attitudes. Licensed cryptocurrency exchanges and potential use case partners are adopting a wait-and-see approach, reflecting the common challenges faced by non-USD stablecoins on a global scale.

Original Title: "Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin's 'Great Retreat'"
Original Author: Joe Zhou, Foresight News

"We are not optimistic about the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin." A source close to the regulatory authorities bluntly told me, "Being optimistic about stablecoins does not mean being optimistic about the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin—they are two completely different things."

He paused and added, "How could the least willing and least motivated institution be allowed to lead the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin, while the most motivated and innovative institution is marginalized?"

This is not a personal bias. I learned from several participants in the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin business that the ownership of the first two Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin licenses has already reflected the embarrassment of this "passive defense" style of regulation: Anchor Point Financial Technology Limited, led by Standard Chartered Bank, took the initiative, while the other licensed institution "was simply unwilling to do it"—this is already an open secret in the industry.

At the same time, companies like Ant Group, JD Technology, and Round Coin Technology, which have a strong desire to explore the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin scene, have not been able to truly enter the field or have no core leadership.

"Participate, but not optimistic." Two individuals from different institutions but both close to the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin business almost unanimously expressed.

Currently, the situation of the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin presents three subtle forms: one type of institution is optimistic about the stablecoin race but holds a reserved attitude towards the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin, yet they have to "take a seat"; another type of institution is not enthusiastic about stablecoins themselves but is reluctantly entering the field pushed by regulation; and there is another type of institution with intentions, resources, and scenarios, but they are being shut out due to their identity.

This mismatch is precisely the most real annotation of the "Great Retreat" of the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin.

One License, Two Attitudes, Three Reactions

Standard Chartered is proactive, HSBC is passive—one license, two attitudes.

In September 2025, 36 institutions enthusiastically submitted applications for the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin license, creating quite a buzz. Yet, over the past year, today in August 2026, few people are actively mentioning the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin.

The excitement has faded, leaving only two real players: Standard Chartered and HSBC. A brand-new business model has ultimately been entrusted entirely to institutions focused on traditional business models. The market sentiment is as cold as ice.

On April 10, 2026, the Monetary Authority issued the first two Hong Kong dollar stablecoin licenses to AnchorPoint FinTech Limited (a joint venture of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Telecom, and Animoca Brands) and HSBC Hong Kong. However, according to industry insiders, the two institutions have completely different attitudes towards stablecoins.

Standard Chartered Bank demonstrated a certain level of initiative and began laying out a global stablecoin strategy. On July 2, 2026, Standard Chartered Bank, in partnership with USDC issuer Circle, announced the launch of an institutional-grade USDC one-stop access service. On August 12, 2026, AnchorPoint FinTech initiated the first phase issuance of the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP, currently only open to limited distribution to institutional distributors and professional investors such as HashKey and OSL, with plans to potentially expand to retail users as early as the end of 2026 depending on market conditions.

On the other hand, HSBC's approach tells a different story. "HSBC is passive, only doing it because they are being pushed." An industry insider frankly told the author. Compared to Standard Chartered Bank's proactive advancement, HSBC's Hong Kong dollar stablecoin plan is notably lagging behind, scheduled for the second half of 2026.

Behind this delay is HSBC's cautious consideration of stablecoin business based on tangible benefits.

"HSBC leans more towards tokenized deposits rather than stablecoins," revealed an individual familiar with HSBC.

The fundamental reason is that stablecoins directly conflict with HSBC's core business. Data shows that about 85% of HSBC's payment business revenue comes from deposit-based net interest income, with the payment business itself accounting for approximately 22% of its total revenue in 2025. HSBC's core business model revolves around attracting low-cost deposits, earning the interest spread through loans and investments – issuing stablecoins would divert bank deposits and undermine its foundation.

Furthermore, the business of compliant stablecoin issuance itself is far from a "gold mine": revenue heavily depends on the interest rate environment, while profits are eroded layer by layer through issuance, custody, distribution, and other channels. For HSBC, which is centered around the core of deposit and lending spreads, holding a massive amount of customer deposits, actively going all-in on stablecoins not only erodes its deposit base but also fails to generate substantial profits, lacking intrinsic commercial drive.

In addition to Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC, the response of 13 licensed cryptocurrency exchanges to the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin is also quite intriguing.

Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC take on the issuing role, while distribution, custody, and other processes rely on licensed exchanges such as HashKey, OSL, EXIO, Panthertrade. However, based on the information available to the author, the attitudes of these exchanges can be broadly categorized into three groups.

First Reaction: No Expectation. "From a business perspective, there is no opportunity for institutions to profit from the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin," said a person from a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong. "Moreover, licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong are currently operating at a loss."

"No expectation," he said.

Second Reaction: Withdrawal while Watching. According to the author's understanding, there were originally at least three licensed cryptocurrency exchanges testing the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin with Anchor Financial Technology, but some exchanges have started to withdraw, unwilling to exert too much effort on various tests.

Third Reaction: Tactical Aggression, Strategic Observation.

Euro Anxious, Yen Clumsy, Won Slow, Hong Kong Dollar Lagging, All in the Rear

The dilemma of the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin is not unique to Hong Kong. Taking a broader view, non-US Dollar stablecoins in major financial centers around the world are almost without exception lagging behind.

Euro Anxious, Yen Clumsy, Won Slow, Hong Kong Dollar Lagging—One winner, four laggers, each with its own difficulties.

Let's start with the Euro stablecoin, as the second-largest currency in terms of reserves after the Dollar, it appears jittery.

The Euro is the world's second-largest payment currency and reserve currency—SWIFT data shows that as of June 2026, the Euro held a 21.88% share of global payments, second only to the Dollar; in global foreign exchange reserves, the Euro accounts for about 20%, firmly in second place. A currency that holds a 22% share in international trade and finance occupies only 0.22% of the global stablecoin market—a difference of a full 100 times.

Watching the rapid development of the Dollar stablecoin, Europe is in a hurry, planning to launch a Euro stablecoin compliant with MiCA in the second half of 2026. The alliance currently has expanded to 37 financial institutions, covering 15 European countries, including BNP Paribas, ING Group, UniCredit, Banco Santander, and ABN AMRO.

However, while the 37-bank alliance seems impressive, the reality is all talk and little action. The market value of the Euro stablecoin is only $674 million, accounting for 0.3% of the global stablecoin market. And most of this 0.3% share is still held by a US company. Circle's EURC alone occupies 64% of the entire Euro stablecoin market with around $430 million.

"Yen Stablecoin is Nonsense," stated an industry insider.

"It's not a matter of technology, but the institutional design that narrowed the path from the beginning." "There is currently no liquidity either," he added.

In June 2026, SBI Holdings officially launched JPYSC, Japan's first Ethereum-based Yen stablecoin backed by trust banks. Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho—the three largest banks in Japan—also announced the joint development of their Yen stablecoin, aiming to start commercial transactions in the 2026 fiscal year. However, the issue is that Japanese regulations have confined stablecoins within the trust bank system—the issuer must be a trust bank, the reserve assets must be held by a trust bank, and redemptions must also go through a trust bank. Through this process, the stablecoin has been turned into an "electronically-handcuffed deposit slip," with little to no connection to the programmability of blockchain.

It's not that Japan cannot create a stablecoin—it's that what they have created is not something anyone is excited about.

"Won Stablecoin is Slow, Stagnant. It's not that businesses don't want to do it, but the regulation has not been settled,"

After the completion of the pilot run by the nine major card issuers, Busan Bank achieved a 100% success rate in its pilot transactions on the Kaia Chain, with processing times below 1 second. Kakao and Circle have also set up their infrastructure—all the businesses are ready. However, the regulation is still stuck in the same place.

What are they stuck on? They're stuck on "who will issue it." The Bank of Korea insists on "banks holding over 51% of shares" to issue, causing a strong backlash in the industry, stating, "This is not stability; it's stagnation." This is because the Korean "Banking Act" stipulates that the maximum stake a bank can hold in another company is 15%—to reach 51%, you would need to rally 4 to 5 banks together to proceed. This itself is creating a roadblock in the market.

The Financial Services Commission's legislation has been pushed back from Q1 to the "second half of the year," and this has happened more than once. Money cannot wait. South Korea has seen stablecoin outflows for 18 consecutive months, totaling over $1 billion—since local stablecoins cannot be issued, users can only exchange them for USD stablecoins to transfer out.

The "slowness" of the Won stablecoin is not an issue of capability but a decision-making problem.

The Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin, on the other hand, is waiting, dragging its feet. Waiting for the clarity of the US regulatory framework, waiting for banks to slowly take action. Market evaluation: The Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin was the first to receive a license but had the coldest start, having a license but lacking enthusiasm.

But the bigger issue is: those with use cases cannot participate, yet those without insist on getting involved. Ant Group wants to do it, JD.com wants to do it, HashKey wants to do it—they have the willingness, the drive, and the scenarios, but they are all left out. The Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin was never about taking the initiative from the start; it was always a reactive measure. Because others did it, Hong Kong had to follow suit.

The global stablecoin market is nearly $308.3 billion, with the U.S. Dollar-backed stablecoins accounting for 98%. The strength of the U.S. Dollar is one of the reasons, while the slowness in other regions is also a significant factor. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Dollar-backed stablecoin has found itself in an awkward situation.