Hong Kong Stablecoin License “Boots on the Ground,” a De-dollarization Breakthrough Battle Over Financial Pricing Power

On April 10, 2026, a turning point arrived in Hong Kong’s financial history.

Whether you’re a value investor in A-shares, a speculator in Hong Kong stocks, or a “watcher” in the crypto world, this afternoon’s mobile push notifications were dominated by the same headline: the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has officially issued the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses to “Dingdian Finance,” the joint venture between HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Fueled by this news, Hong Kong stocks of Guotai Junan International surged by nearly 30% at one point intraday, while the A-share digital currency sector rose across the board.

As a deep observer who has witnessed several bull-and-bear cycles, seeing this news, my first reaction was: the era of the rough-and-ready days is over, but the bigger game has only just begun.

Many people view this move as simply “making crypto trading legal.” If you think that way, you may miss the biggest financial ace card swap of 2026. Below, I’ll break down the real mystery of this “financial defense battle” by combining exclusive data and macro logic.

01 Why HSBC and Standard Chartered? A Precise “National Team” Replacement

Before interpreting, we need to see a fact clearly: the Hong Kong Monetary Authority received 36 applications, but only 2 were ultimately approved.

This is absolutely not inclusive finance—it’s an elite selection where the best are chosen from among the best.

So who made the cut? On one side is HSBC, which has the authority to issue banknotes; on the other side is a “super alliance” made up of Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong Telecommunications, and Anyi Group.

Core insight: The essence of stablecoins is not “coins,” but the financial infrastructure of the digital era. The President of the HKMA, Eddie Yue, stated clearly that the licensing threshold is extremely high, mainly based on two factors: (1) risk management capabilities, and (2) specific application scenarios.

This means Hong Kong has completely abandoned the Web3 industry’s rough-and-ready logic of “issue coins and run.” Handing minting rights to traditional banks that have a century of risk-control experience and are subject to tier-3 regulation is essentially cranking the credit rating of digital finance straight to the maximum.

Previously, when using USDT, we always worried whether Tether’s reserves were sufficient, and whether a single U.S. regulatory order could freeze them. Now, Hong Kong has laid down a hard rule: “1:1 full reserves” and “independent third-party audits.”

This is not just a license—it’s a national-level main force rolling in with armored vehicles to take over the order.

02 Tear Open the Gap: A Long-Planned De-dollarization Breakthrough

If you only look at this as “making it easier for small retail users to trade crypto,” you’re underestimating the chessboard. Behind it is a financial breakout war aimed at the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

For a long time, the lifeblood of the crypto world (stablecoins) has been monopolized by USDT and USDC. As long as Asian capital enters, it first has to “bathe” in the dollar pool.

This time, Hong Kong is playing a card: the “Hong Kong dollar stablecoin.”

According to the plan published by the HKMA, both institutions will anchor to the Hong Kong dollar in the first phase. This is an extremely clever entry point:

1. Compliance channel: This is a value transfer channel that is regulated by the government and rooted in Asia. Sovereign funds in the Middle East, as well as RWA assets from the mainland, finally have a settlement tool that doesn’t have to look at Wall Street’s face.
2. Coordination with “Document No. 42”: Notably, just two months earlier (February 2026), eight mainland departments jointly issued a directive to strictly regulate cross-border activities involving RMB stablecoins and virtual currencies. By allowing compliant Hong Kong dollar stablecoins to be opened up at this time, Hong Kong is effectively implementing a finely crafted “dual-track system”—defend internally (prevent capital outflows and financial risks) and break out externally (seize offshore asset pricing power).

Data as support: In 2025, Asia accounted for 60% of global stablecoin payment volume. If Hong Kong doesn’t seize this foothold, this cake will be taken by Singapore or Switzerland.

03 Three Signals Ordinary People Must Be Wary Of

Every upgrade to financial infrastructure is a reallocation of wealth. In the face of this shuffle, my advice is only three points—hoping to help you avoid traps:

Signal One: Stop idolizing “shady exchanges.”

When large funds have legitimate, secure channels for deposits and withdrawals, those offshore small platforms that attract users with high interest and low fees will soon face the reverse effect of “bad money driving out good”—liquidity will dry up. Protecting your principal matters more than anything else.

Signal Two: Watch the “water sellers,” but don’t touch “air coins.”

After the licenses are in place, the real value flows will surge toward the upstream of the industrial chain. HSBC and Standard Chartered have obtained licenses, but they still need technology outsourcing, security audits, and cross-border payment solutions.
In the coming months, Hong Kong’s “financial infrastructure” sector and some RWA projects backed by state-owned enterprises may see earnings materialize. As for those “Hong Kong concept” scam coins and cottage-brand shanzhai tokens—blacklist them directly.

Signal Three: Be alert to pig-butchering scams disguised under the banner of “compliance.”

Remember the HKMA’s reminder: services have not been formally launched yet. Anyone who asks you to buy “internal quotas” right now is a scammer. The compliance list is based on the HKMA’s official record on its website.

04 Conclusion: From the “Wild West” to “Wall Street East”

With data showing that only 2 out of 36 applicants were approved, I think of one word: carefully selected.

HSBC plans to directly roll out stablecoin payment features through PayMe and the HSBC App in the second half of 2026. This means Hong Kong’s compliant stablecoins are not just high-flying investment products—they need to be integrated into everyday life as payment tools.

For practitioners, this is indeed a blow, because it eliminates the space for information asymmetry and regulatory arbitrage; but for the entire financial ecosystem, this is an epic-level upgrade.

When this aircraft carrier, HSBC, enters these waters, those rough-and-ready players who are still crossing with small boats really are at the point where they have to exit.

Do you think that after HSBC and Standard Chartered move in, ordinary people will find it easier to buy compliant digital assets, or will the barriers become higher? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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