Hong Kong's Stablecoin Licensing: March Came, March Went, Licenses Still MIA

Hong Kong has officially missed its self-imposed March deadline to issue licenses for HKD stablecoin issuers, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority hasn't approved a single application yet. For those keeping score at home, that's zero for three on promises made. But hey, who's counting? Apparently not the HKMA.

Back in February at Consensus Hong Kong, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po confidently told attendees that licenses would start rolling out in March as part of the city's grand plan to become a regulated hub for stablecoins and tokenized finance. Well, April is here, and the HKMA's register of licensed stablecoin issuers remains as empty as a DeFi liquidity pool in a bear market. Chan might as well have said "coming soon" and called it a day. At least that would have been honest.

The usual suspects were expected to lead the charge: HSBC and a joint venture between Standard Chartered and Animoca Brands. Not coincidentally, both HSBC and Standard Chartered are among Hong Kong's note-issuing banks — a status that ties them directly to the Hong Kong dollar's issuance framework dating back to 1846. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue even drew the parallel in a December 2023 blog post, noting that pre-1935 banknotes issued by commercial banks were a form of 'private money,' and stablecoins are essentially their blockchain-based equivalent. Nothing says innovation like bringing 1846 back into fashion.

So what's the holdup? The HKMA isn't saying. 'The HK