Standard Chartered has initiated the process of applying for a stablecoin issuer’s licence in Hong Kong with the formation of a new joint venture, Anchorpoint Financial.
Standard Chartered and Partners Name JV Anchorpoint for Hong Kong Stablecoin Licence
8 August 2025 - 18:10 CEST
The other partners are Animoca Brands, which develops and publishes blockchain-based games and digital assets, and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT), one of Hong Kong’s largest telecom providers.
Steady approach
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s regulations for these licences came into force on 1 August and the deadline for early applications is 30 September. The Authority has made it clear this will not precipitate a head-long rush into stablecoins Darryl Chan Wai-man, the HKMA’s deputy chief executive, told the South China Morning Post that the first licences will be issued “early next year”.
He also said not all applicants will be successful first time and that Hong Kong’s digital transformation will be a “step-by-step” process.
Complementary strengths
The three JV partners are pooling their respective expertise to develop a business model for the “issuance and advancement of stablecoins”, according to the companies’ press releases.
Standard Chartered’s financial expertise, governance framework and global reach provides both operational strength and institutional credibility. Animoca brings its extensive Web3 knowledge, while HKT specializes in mobile payment systems, as well as having digital infrastructure expertise.
Long-term partnership
The three companies took part in the HKMA stablecoin issuer sandbox in July 2024. According to the Standard Chartered press release, the task was to “explore how stablecoins can play a key role in the development of financial markets and payments by bridging Web3 and traditional finance.”
Other sandbox participants included Jingdong Coinlink Technology, a Chinese e-commerce retailer in China that operates as JD.com, and RD InnoTech, a subsidiary of RD Technologies, which produces an electronic wallet for fiat currencies.
Standard Chartered, Animoca and HKT first announced their intention to form this in February 2025, saying, “the JV is strategically positioned to be among one of the first issuers to pioneer this market in the region.”
