Stablecoin license just issued, Hong Kong Monetary Authority warns: scams impersonating HSBC, issuing tokens!

The first batch of stablecoin issuers’ licenses in Hong Kong have just been obtained by HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, but the market has already seen fake tokens impersonating the codes “HSBC” and “HKDAP.”

In early April this year, Hong Kong issued its first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses, with HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial taking the lead, but just as the industry was eagerly awaiting, scam groups had already moved. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently warned that false tokens impersonating licensed issuers have appeared in the market, claiming to be related to two licensed issuers, and urged investors to stay alert.

On Tuesday, the HKMA pointed out that tokens using the codes “HKDAP” or “HSBC” have appeared in the market, but these tokens are not issued by licensed stablecoin issuers and have no relation to the issuers.

The HKMA mentioned that HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial have both stated that they have not issued any regulated stablecoins, and therefore called on the public to be vigilant and beware of any fraud or scams falsely claiming to be associated with licensed institutions or related to their stablecoins.

Meanwhile, HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial also issued statements strongly denying any connection to these tokens and clarified that they have not launched any stablecoins in Hong Kong.

HSBC stated that it plans to launch a Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin in the second half of this year, which will be available through PayMe and HSBC Hong Kong’s mobile wealth management app; Anchorpoint Financial previously revealed that it plans to gradually launch its own stablecoin “HKDAP” starting from the second quarter of this year.

BlockBeats previously reported that “Anchorpoint Financial” is a joint venture established by Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Hong Kong Telecom, and Hong Kong Web3 company Animoca Brands, aiming to build a business model focused on issuing and promoting regulated stablecoins.

Since July 2024, Animoca Brands, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Telecom have been collaborating with the HKMA to participate in the “Sandbox” stablecoin issuer project, jointly exploring how stablecoins can integrate Web3 with traditional finance to play a key role in financial and payment market development, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a global digital asset hub.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: BlockBeats
• Original title: “Fake Tokens Impersonate HSBC and Anchorpoint Stablecoins! HKMA Urges: Stay Alert and Avoid Scams”
• Original author: Block Sister MEL