Stablecoin licensing and institutional shifts in Hong Kong

The HKMA license rollout

The HKMA granted the first stablecoin issuer licenses to Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC on April 10, 2026, which enabled Anchorpoint to launch its HKDAP stablecoin for corporate clients and professional investors on August 12, 2026. These companies must maintain a minimum paid-up share capital of HKD 25,000,000 to satisfy regulatory requirements. All issuers must also keep reserve assets isolated from company holdings to ensure tokens remain fully supported by premium liquid assets. HashKey also scaled its technology and infrastructure following its HK$1.6 billion IPO, which valued the exchange at HK$18.5 billion. The company sold 240.6 million shares at HK$6.68 apiece, near the top of the marketed range. While the exchange generated a loss of HK$506.7 million in the first half, its revenue fell 26% to HK$284 million. Its 24.06 million shares allocated to retail investors in Hong Kong were 393.71 times subscribed. Cornerstone investors including UBS Group AG’s asset-management arm, Fidelity International, and Infini Capital bought US$75 million worth of HashKey stock. These groups agreed to hold the shares for at least six months. I find the HKD 25,000,000 minimum capital requirement effectively excludes most smaller startups from the stablecoin race.

Retail restrictions and fee pressure

The SFC restricts crypto margin financing and derivatives to professional investors, creating a retail derivative ban for platforms like OSL. This prevents retail users from accessing high-leverage products. OSL reported a 65.8% revenue increase to HK$7.1 billion in the first half, alongside an adjusted net profit of HK$42.2 million. As a member of BC Technology Group, OSL operates under Type 1 and Type 7 licenses. This growth stems from increased trading volumes on the platform, which provides higher activity for institutional users. While ZA Bank offered 0% commission on trades through December 31, 2025, fee pressure remains high. You should realize that the regulatory gap between professional and retail services defines the current market structure. ZA Bank, the first and largest digital bank in Hong Kong with more than 800,000 users, partnered with HashKey to deliver bank-grade security. The competition between digital banks and traditional exchanges forces constant fee adjustments to capture the interest of the 560 million global crypto users who seek more convenient ways to trade. This constant pressure reduces profit margins for all players in the digital banking sector.

Tokenization and capital realities

The SFC issued new rules on April 20, 2026, to facilitate secondary market trading of tokenized SFC-authorized open-ended funds on licensed platforms. This framework allows the circulation of tokenized products after their initial issuance. Animoca Brands recently completed a capital raise of $65 million at a $2.2 billion valuation. Investors included Liberty City Ventures, Ubisoft Entertainment, Sequoia China, and Dragonfly Capital. The company intends to use this cash for strategic investments and product development for its portfolio of over 100 NFT-related ventures. Animoca’s valuation has more than doubled since its funding round in May. This funding arrives while the industry deals with the reality of a slow rollout for tokenized fund trading despite the recent regulatory guidance. The SFC aims to encourage market innovation by allowing case-by-case consideration for OTC secondary market trading arrangements. This strategy seeks to help the industry while maintaining tight control over all activities.

Can the market achieve deep liquidity before the regulatory implementation matures?