Just issued stablecoin licenses, Hong Kong Monetary Authority warns: scams impersonating HSBC and “Dingdian” to issue tokens!

Hong Kong’s first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses were just obtained by HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, and the market already saw fake tokens impersonating “HSBC” and “HKDAP.”

In early April this year, Hong Kong issued its first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses. HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial were the first to get them, but just when everyone was eagerly waiting, a fraud group had already moved. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently warned that fake tokens have appeared in the market, falsely claiming to be related to 2 licensed issuers, and therefore urged investors to stay alert.

The HKMA said on Tuesday that tokens using “HKDAP” or “HSBC” as codes are currently appearing in the market. However, these tokens are not issued by any licensed stablecoin issuer, nor are they in any way related to the issuers.

The HKMA also noted that both HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial have stated that they have not issued any regulated stablecoins. It therefore called on the public to remain vigilant against any scams that falsely use the names of licensed institutions or lie that they are related to their stablecoins.

Meanwhile, both HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial also released statements denying any connection to these tokens and clarifying that they have not launched any stablecoins in Hong Kong.

HSBC Bank said it plans to launch a Hong Kong dollar–denominated stablecoin in the second half of this year. At that time, it will be provided through PayMe and the HSBC Hong Kong mobile banking app. Anchorpoint Financial previously revealed that it expects to roll out its own stablecoin “HKDAP” in stages starting from the second quarter of this year.

Previously, BlockSec reported that “Anchorpoint Financial” is a joint venture company jointly established by Citibank (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Telecommunications, and Hong Kong Web3 company Animoca Brands, with the goal of building a business model focused on “issuing and promoting regulated stablecoins.”

Since July 2024, Animoca Brands, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Telecommunications have teamed up to participate in the “sandbox” for stablecoin issuer issuers launched by the HKMA, jointly exploring how stablecoins can play a key role in the development of financial and payments markets by combining Web3 with traditional finance, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a global digital asset hub.

• This article is reprinted with authorization from: BlockSec
• Original title: Fake tokens impersonate HSBC and Anchorpoint stablecoins! HKMA urges: stay alert and don’t fall for scams
• Original author: BlockSec Sister MEL