The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a public warning on April 28 after digital tokens using the names of the city’s two newly licensed stablecoin issuers began circulating in the market. The regulator said the tokens carrying the tickers “HKDAP” and “HSBC” were not authorized and had no connection to Anchorpoint Financial Limited or The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.
The alert came less than three weeks after Hong Kong granted its first stablecoin issuer approvals on April 10. Those two institutions were the inaugural license holders. Both companies released separate statements the same day, each saying it has not launched any stablecoin product to the public.
HSBC says any token using its name is fraudulent
HSBC told the public it has no link to any token currently circulating under its name. The bank also said its planned Hong Kong dollar stablecoin is still being prepared for a second-half 2026 launch. Once released, it will be distributed only through PayMe and the HSBC HK Mobile Banking App. Any product using the HSBC name outside those two channels should be treated as fraudulent.
At the time the licenses were awarded, HSBC Hong Kong CEO Maggie Ng had described the project as a way to help customers “participate confidently in the future of digital finance.” The April 28 warning shows that this rollout has not yet reached the public market. At this stage, there is still no officially released HSBC stablecoin in circulation.
HKDAP rollout had been signaled, but no live token exists
The same applies to HKDAP-branded tokens. Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong, telecom company HKT, and digital asset firm Animoca Brands had indicated that their HKDAP stablecoin would begin a phased rollout in the second quarter of this year. That schedule has not resulted in a live product. Any token now circulating under the HKDAP name predates any legitimate issuance and carries no backing from the firms involved.
The episode lands at a sensitive point in Hong Kong’s stablecoin push. When the HKMA selected HSBC and Anchorpoint from a field of 36 applicants, it sent a clear signal about the kind of institutions it wanted leading this market. HSBC was approved without going through the regulatory sandbox, with the regulator weighing its capital base, anti-money laundering infrastructure, and existing role in Hong Kong’s monetary system. Anchorpoint took the sandbox route, and its approval followed that process.
Local HKD stablecoins are part of a broader policy goal
Behind the licensing push is a broader effort by the HKMA to reduce reliance on offshore stablecoins such as USDT and USDC in domestic and regional transactions. Bank-issued Hong Kong dollar stablecoins are being positioned as long-term infrastructure for trade finance, remittances, and tokenized real-world asset settlement across the Greater Bay Area. That makes fake tokens using licensed names more than a branding issue; they touch a market segment the regulator is trying to formalize from the ground up.