Major Banks Vie for Hong Kong’s Scarce Stablecoin Licenses

Hong Kong’s financial regulator has received expressions of interest from at least 77 institutions seeking a limited number of initial stablecoin licenses, as major global and regional banks move to secure market position.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and its Hong Kong arm, ICBC (Asia), reportedly notified the regulator of their intent, joining Bank of China (Hong Kong) among mainland state-backed entrants. HSBC has also signaled interest, while sources name Standard Chartered and Bank of China as strong contenders to be awarded the first permits. Regulators have emphasized the initial licensing round will be tightly capped, reflecting concerns about consumer protection, anti‑money‑laundering controls and systemic risk. Banks’ outreach underscores plans to integrate tokenized payments and digital-asset services; analysts say winning a license could give institutions an early advantage in Hong Kong’s evolving crypto-payments infrastructure.