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Standard Chartered has partnered with Animoca Brands and Hong Kong telecom radical HKT to found Anchorpoint Financial, a associated task applying for a licence to contented a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin nether the city’s new regulatory regime.
As Reuters reported, the task formally notified the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) of its intent conscionable days aft the instrumentality governing fiat-referenced stablecoins took effect connected August 1.
The determination follows much than a twelvemonth of collaboration betwixt the 3 firms successful the HKMA’s stablecoin issuer sandbox, which began past year. Standard Chartered is contributing banking infrastructure and governance frameworks, Animoca brings blockchain ecosystem expertise, and HKT is providing telecommunications and mobile payments integration. The partners announced their program to signifier a licensed stablecoin issuer successful February, contingent connected the finalization of the legislation.
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Stablecoin Issuers Bill connected May 21, establishing licensing requirements for entities issuing fiat-pegged integer tokens. The model mandates afloat reserve backing, redemption rights, and hazard absorption standards, with the HKMA arsenic the licensing authority. Per Reuters, the archetypal batch of licenses is expected successful aboriginal 2026, and manufacture participants expect lone a tiny fig volition beryllium granted initially.
Hong Kong stablecoin rules
Under the caller law, issuers indispensable verify the individuality of each stablecoin holder, a request the HKMA says is indispensable for anti-money laundering compliance. As Reuters reported, immoderate manufacture participants person warned that specified rules could trim adoption by limiting the quality to usage tokens successful unhosted wallets oregon privacy-preserving applications.
The HKD-backed stablecoin projected by Anchorpoint would beryllium issued and redeemed nether HKMA oversight, operating wrong a afloat regulated environment. The partners person positioned the token arsenic some a colony instrumentality for cross-border commercialized and a gateway for Web3 applications wrong Animoca’s ecosystem, leveraging HKT’s existing mobile outgo scope to link to retail users successful Hong Kong and beyond.
The licensing authorities represents a uncommon gathering of accepted finance, technology, and telecom infrastructure successful a azygous integer plus initiative. Anchorpoint’s aboriginal filing positions it among the archetypal to effort compliance with the city’s stringent standards, competing with different sandbox participants specified arsenic Jingdong Coinlink and RD InnoTech. The HKMA has said its reappraisal process volition measure method resilience, reserve management, and compliance readiness earlier approving immoderate issuance.
While marketplace reception volition beryllium connected factors specified arsenic transaction costs, integration with existing outgo systems, and regulatory mentation of the individuality verification rules, the filing marks a measurement toward regulated, fiat-pegged integer currencies entering mainstream circulation successful Hong Kong.
With licensing decisions expected aboriginal adjacent year, the venture’s advancement volition beryllium shaped by the gait and result of the HKMA’s valuation process.
The station Hong Kong’s archetypal HKD stablecoin contention begins arsenic Standard Chartered files early appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
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