Hong Kong’s HKD stablecoin market has lost much of the excitement that surrounded its launch, according to a Foresight News report that cites multiple people close to the sector. The report says many participants still see promise in stablecoins as a category, but do not share that optimism when it comes to Hong Kong dollar stablecoins.
One person described as close to regulators told the author, 「We are not optimistic about Hong Kong dollar stablecoins.」 The same person added that being bullish on stablecoins does not automatically mean being bullish on HKD stablecoins, calling the two separate issues. That source also questioned whether the business can work if the institutions with the least motivation end up leading it, while those with stronger interest and clearer ideas stay on the sidelines.
The report says the allocation of the first two HKD stablecoin licenses already reflects that mismatch. Anchorpoint Fintech, led by Standard Chartered, is described as actively pushing ahead. The other licensed institution is said by industry participants to be far less willing. At the same time, companies such as Ant Group, JD Technology and RD InnoTech are described as having strong interest in exploring use cases for HKD stablecoins, yet without a real path into the core of the market structure.
Two people from different institutions, both close to Hong Kong’s stablecoin business, summed up the mood in nearly identical terms: they are participating, but they are not optimistic.
One license regime, sharply different attitudes
Foresight divides the current market into three broad groups. The first includes institutions that like the stablecoin track but remain cautious on HKD stablecoins and still want a placeholder position. The second includes firms that were not enthusiastic about stablecoins to begin with but entered under regulatory pressure. The third includes firms with interest, resources and use cases that have not been allowed into the core structure.
In the report’s telling, that misalignment sits at the center of the current retreat in sentiment.
Back in September 2025, 36 institutions applied for HKD stablecoin licenses. By August 2026, the noise had faded. The report says the market now sees only two real players left at the center: Standard Chartered and HSBC. A business model framed as new and digital has ended up in the hands of institutions built around traditional banking, and the market mood is described as cold.
Two sources from different licensed crypto exchanges in Hong Kong told the author that HSBC’s lack of enthusiasm is widely understood in the industry.
On April 10, 2026, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted the first two HKD stablecoin licenses to Anchorpoint Fintech and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. The report notes that Anchorpoint Fintech is a joint venture involving Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands.
Standard Chartered moved first while HSBC stayed cautious
According to the report, Standard Chartered has shown a degree of initiative and has begun setting out a broader global stablecoin strategy.
On July 2, 2026, Standard Chartered and Circle, the issuer of USDC, jointly announced an institutional one-stop access service for USDC. Then on Aug. 12, 2026, Anchorpoint Fintech began the first phase of issuance for its HKD stablecoin, HKDAP. The token is currently available on a limited basis only to institutional distributors and professional investors, including firms such as HashKey and OSL. The company plans to expand to retail users as early as the end of 2026, depending on market conditions.
HSBC, by contrast, is presented as much slower. One industry source told the author, 「HSBC is passive. It only moved after being directly pushed to do so.」 The report says HSBC’s HKD stablecoin plan is scheduled for the second half of 2026.
Another person described as close to HSBC said the bank would rather promote tokenized deposits than stablecoins.
The report ties that position to HSBC’s existing profit structure. It says about 85% of HSBC’s payment business revenue comes from net interest income based on deposits, while payments accounted for about 22% of its total revenue in 2025. In that setup, stablecoin issuance could pull deposits away from the bank and weaken a core part of its model.
Foresight also argues that compliant stablecoin issuance is not a high-margin business. Revenue depends heavily on the interest-rate environment, while profit is diluted across issuance, custody and distribution. For a bank built around deposit gathering and interest spreads, the report says, a full commitment to stablecoins would risk eating into its own funding base without offering especially attractive returns.
Licensed exchanges split into three camps
Issuance is only part of the setup. Distribution and custody would rely on Hong Kong’s licensed crypto exchanges, and the report mentions HashKey, OSL, EXIO and Panthertrade among them. It says the reactions across the city’s 13 licensed crypto exchanges can also be divided into three groups.
The first group has no real expectations. One source at a licensed crypto exchange in Hong Kong said there is no visible path for institutions to make money from HKD stablecoins on commercial terms. The same person added that licensed crypto exchanges in Hong Kong are themselves still operating at a loss and described expectations for the sector in two words: none at all.
The second group is stepping back while still watching. Foresight says at least three licensed exchanges had been testing HKD stablecoins with Anchorpoint Fintech, but some have already started to retreat and no longer want to spend significant effort on additional testing.
The third group remains tactically active but strategically unconvinced. Another source at a licensed crypto exchange said the team is indeed testing cooperation with HKD stablecoin issuers, yet from a company-wide strategy perspective, the business still does not offer a visible profit opportunity at this stage.
Hong Kong’s problem is part of a wider non-dollar pattern
The report argues that HKD stablecoins are not alone. Across major financial centers, non-dollar stablecoins remain far behind their dollar peers.
For euro stablecoins, Foresight points to a clear gap between the euro’s role in global finance and its stablecoin presence. Citing SWIFT data, the report says the euro accounted for 21.88% of global payments in June 2026, second only to the U.S. dollar. The euro also makes up about 20% of global foreign exchange reserves. Yet while the currency holds roughly 22% of international trade and finance activity, euro stablecoins account for only 0.22% of the global stablecoin market.
Europe is planning to launch a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The alliance behind that effort has expanded to 37 financial institutions across 15 European countries, including BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit, BBVA and ABN AMRO, according to the report.
Even so, the current euro stablecoin market remains small. Foresight puts total euro stablecoin market capitalization at $674 million, or 0.3% of the global stablecoin market. Circle’s EURC alone accounts for about $430 million, giving it a 64% share of the euro stablecoin segment.
The report is even more blunt about Japan. One industry source called yen stablecoins 「foolish」 and argued that the problem is not technical capability but institutional design. The same person said the path was narrowed from the start and that liquidity remains limited.
In June 2026, SBI Holdings launched JPYSC, described in the report as Japan’s first Ethereum-based yen stablecoin backed by a trust bank. Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho have also announced a joint effort to develop their own yen stablecoin, with commercial transactions planned for fiscal 2026.
But Japan’s regulatory structure confines stablecoins to the trust-bank system. Issuers must be trust banks, reserve assets must be held at trust banks, and redemptions must also go through trust banks. In the report’s phrasing, that turns stablecoins into something closer to an electronic certificate of deposit in chains, with little left of blockchain’s programmable character.
South Korea, meanwhile, is presented as slow and stalled. Foresight says pilot programs involving nine card issuers have already run, Busan Bank completed a Kaia Chain pilot with a 100% transaction success rate and processing time below one second, and infrastructure from Kakao and Circle is already in place. Companies are ready, the report says, but regulators are still arguing over who should be allowed to issue.
The Bank of Korea has insisted that only entities with more than 51% bank ownership should be permitted to issue stablecoins, a position that has drawn strong criticism from the industry. Under South Korea’s Banking Act, banks can hold no more than a 15% stake in another company. Reaching 51% would therefore require at least four to five banks to participate together.
The report says the Financial Services Commission’s bill has been pushed from the first quarter to the second half of the year, and not just once. During that delay, South Korea has recorded 18 straight months of net stablecoin outflows totaling more than $1 billion. Without a local won-denominated product to use, users have had to switch into dollar stablecoins and move funds out.
An early license, but no broad conviction
Compared with euro, yen and won stablecoins, the report says the Hong Kong case is defined by waiting and delay: waiting for U.S. clarity legislation and waiting for banks to move at their own pace. The market verdict cited by Foresight is that HKD stablecoins got licensed early, started cold and still have licenses without strong enthusiasm behind them.
The deeper issue, in the report’s view, is structural. Companies with clear use cases and stronger motivation are not in the center, while institutions with less urgency are taking the lead. Foresight specifically mentions Ant, JD and HashKey as firms with intention, drive and practical scenarios, yet without central control of the effort.
The report closes by putting the market into global context. The worldwide stablecoin market is approaching $308.3 billion, and dollar stablecoins account for 98% of that total. Dollar dominance is part of the story, it says, but the slow pace elsewhere matters too. For now, HKD stablecoins remain in an awkward position.