HSBC and Standard Chartered are set to be among the first group of stablecoin licensees in Hong Kong, according to a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP) citing sources. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is expected to announce the first handful of licenses later this month, with the SCMP saying the date might be March 24. Thirty-six companies applied after more than 70 expressions of interest.
The two banks are also responsible for issuing Hong Kong’s cash notes, alongside Bank of China (HK). Standard Chartered was one of three participants in Hong Kong’s stablecoin sandbox, in addition to a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, JD Technology, and startup RD Technologies, which was founded by a former HKMA CEO and raised $40 million in funding last year. Standard Chartered also created a stablecoin joint venture with Animoca Brands and HKT.
There were several hints that the initial cohort of licensees was likely to include banks, among them stringent AML requirements and explicit exceptions around stablecoins in Hong Kong’s implementation of Basel crypto rules for banks.
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