Hong Kong stablecoin licenses are "stable," what investment opportunities can "add chicken legs"?

21st Century Business Herald 21 Finance App Ye Maisui

There are many investment methods, and the circle is here to help! The biggest news in the market this week is the official implementation of Hong Kong's first batch of stablecoin licenses.

With the news materializing, stablecoin concept stocks have risen sharply, with brokerages leading the charge. H-share Guotai Junan International surged as much as 42% intraday.

Some friends in the circle asked, since stablecoin concepts are so hot, how can we get involved? After consulting various experts, the circle has summarized two paths for your reference.

Two Institutions Receive Licenses First

On April 10, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority officially announced the results of the first batch of stablecoin issuer license approvals. Two institutions, Anchor Financial Technology Co., Ltd. and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, were successfully approved.

The licenses issued this time are effective from April 10. According to the plans of the two licensed institutions, after completing various preparatory work, they are expected to officially launch related businesses in the coming months. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue pointed out that the successful issuance of stablecoin licenses marks a key step and a milestone for Hong Kong's development in the digital asset field.

The two approved institutions have also successively disclosed their subsequent plans. HSBC announced that with the new license, it plans to officially launch a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of 2026, achieving seamless integration with two major digital platforms: PayMe and the HSBC Hong Kong mobile banking app. Initially, it will offer multiple daily services to individuals and merchants, including person-to-person transfers, person-to-merchant payments, and using stablecoins to subscribe to tokenized investment products via mobile banking. HSBC also stated that its issued stablecoins will be fully reserved with high-quality liquid assets, independently custodied, and strictly comply with high-standard anti-money laundering and compliance requirements. In addition, since 2022, HSBC has been deeply involved in multiple HKMA digital asset pilot projects, including the e-HKD+ and Ensemble projects.

Anchor Financial, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Group, plans to launch a compliant stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, HKDAP, in phases starting from the second quarter of this year. The institution will adopt a B2B2C business model, expand coverage through licensed distribution channels, and accelerate the market adoption of HKDAP by incentivizing partners to develop practical use cases. Meanwhile, Anchor Financial will also focus on the settlement and distribution of tokenized real-world assets, developing stablecoin-based cross-border payment solutions. As early as early 2023, Standard Chartered Hong Kong partnered with HKT and Animoca Brands to conduct stablecoin research, joined the HKMA stablecoin sandbox in 2024, and formally established Anchor Financial in 2025.

The HKMA reminds that licensed institutions must complete a series of preparatory work before officially launching stablecoins, including technical system testing, risk control mechanism implementation, and personnel team configuration. According to the timelines of the two institutions, Hong Kong's first batch of compliant stablecoins is expected to be rolled out gradually from mid-year to the second half of 2025, with application scenarios mainly focusing on cross-border payments, local retail payments, tokenized asset trading, and various innovative applications.

As of the end of the first round of applications on September 30, 2025, the HKMA had received stablecoin license applications from 36 institutions. The HKMA stated that the license imposes a high entry threshold, with the core approval criteria revolving around two dimensions: first, whether the institution has sufficient risk management capabilities, industry experience, and cross-border compliance capabilities; second, whether it can propose clear implementation scenarios and feasible commercial plans. HSBC and Anchor Financial ultimately stood out due to their banking backgrounds, mature risk control systems, clear business plans, and prior experience in central bank digital currency and tokenization trials. One of the institutions also formed synergistic advantages with local telecommunications and payment entities, better aligning with regulatory direction.

Two Channels for Investing in Related Concepts

In fact, since the beginning of Hong Kong's stablecoin legislation, it has attracted much attention, especially the strategic significance of stablecoins, which has been placed at an important height at one point.

CICC Research views stablecoins as a potential force for reshaping the international monetary order. CITIC Securities believes they have a crucial impact on geopolitics, financial markets, and the next generation of technology landscape. Soochow Securities believes that the passage of Hong Kong's stablecoin bill may help internationalize the renminbi, weaken the dollar's dominance in the crypto economy, and consolidate Hong Kong's competitive advantage as a digital financial hub in Asia-Pacific.

After the announcement of the first batch of stablecoin licenses, brokerages with virtual asset-related licenses were the first to benefit.

The most direct effect is the expansion of licensed brokerages' business scope. Licensed brokerages can compliantly list Hong Kong dollar/US dollar stablecoin trading pairs on their platforms, opening up the entire chain of "fiat-stablecoin-crypto assets." With high liquidity and higher fees than traditional brokerage businesses, stablecoins will directly boost trading volume, commissions, and market-making revenue.

Although there is still considerable controversy over stablecoins, with the news confirmed, stablecoins are now temporarily "stable." So the question is, how can we participate? In fact, on Friday's session, related sectors in the A-share and H-share markets showed abnormal movements.

H-share stablecoin concepts rebounded first. Among them, Guotai Junan International once surged over 42%, closing up 27.69%; SITC Logistics rose over 14%; Yunfeng Financial and Victory Securities rose over 10%; China Everbright Limited, Lianlian Digital, and China Renaissance Holdings rose over 8%; OSL Group and Bright Smart Securities rose over 5%.

The A-share securities sector showed a linked move, with the entire sector strengthening. All 50 stocks in the sector closed in the green, with Hata Investment rising 8.15% and CITIC Securities rising 7.15%.

Currently, if you want to participate in the stablecoin concept market, there are two channels to consider:

Channel 1: Directly buy relevant brokerage stocks. Investors with larger capital can directly buy Hong Kong market brokerage stocks through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect. If you do not have Stock Connect access, you can buy linked brokerage stocks in the A-share market.

Currently, the main requirements for opening Stock Connect are threefold: First, the investor must have a normal Shanghai/Shenzhen A-share securities account with no serious violation records, and the average daily assets in the securities account and capital account over the 20 trading days prior to application must be no less than RMB 500k, excluding funds and securities borrowed through margin trading. The investor must be at least 18 years old, and investors over 70 usually need to go to the business office in person. ‌‌

Second, experience requirement: The investor must have at least 24 months of A-share trading experience to demonstrate familiarity with the basic trading rules and procedures of the securities market.

Third, knowledge test and risk assessment: You need to pass the Stock Connect knowledge test organized by the securities company (usually requiring a score of 80 or above) and complete a risk tolerance assessment. The assessment result must be at least stable (C4) or above.

Channel 2: You can choose a brokerage ETF or securities ETF. There are currently about a dozen such products on the market, with little difference. You can focus on products with low tracking error and favorable management fees. Additionally, if you want to buy Hong Kong brokerages but your capital is insufficient, you may consider the Hong Kong Securities ETF. Compared to other securities/brokerage ETFs that settle T+1, the Hong Kong Securities ETF supports T+0 settlement. On Friday, this ETF's largest gain exceeded 6.6%, closing up 4.52%. Some short-term trading experts can participate in multiple trades within the day.

However, the circle also needs to remind everyone that whether it's individual stocks or ETFs, although there is a clear upward trend driven by the news, if you want to participate, you must also pay attention to potential volatility risks. After all, there is no market that only rises without falling. Once market hotspots shift, investments could suffer!!! Additionally, a factor that is easily overlooked is the exchange rate issue.

Finally, the circle must reiterate: Entering the market carries risks, and investment requires caution. No matter what, the first priority is to protect your principal.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Key words:

                            stablecoin license