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Two Licences Out of Thirty-Six: How Hong Kong's Stablecoin Rollout Re-Crowned the Colonial Note-Issuing Banks
Thirty-six entities applied. Two were approved. Both already print Hong Kong dollars on paper. The 'decentralised' digital-asset frontier just got reissued to the same two banks that ran colonial Hong Kong's monetary plumbing.
Author's note: This analysis reflects the perspective of Moemedi Michael Poncana. The "decentralisation" rhetoric that accompanied a decade of stablecoin market growth has been dismantled in plain sight over the twelve months since MiCA's stablecoin phase came into force. Hong Kong's 10 April announcement is not the cause. It is the confirmation.
Sources
Hong Kong Monetary Authority, "Granting of stablecoin issuer licences," press release, 10 April 2026 — <https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/press-releases/2026/04/20260410-4/>
Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Eddie Yue, "Robust development of the regulated stablecoin ecosystem in Hong Kong," HKMA Insight, 10 April 2026 — <https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/insight/2026/04/20260410/>
Bloomberg, "HSBC, StanChart Get First Hong Kong Stablecoin Issuer Licenses," 10 April 2026 — <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-10/hsbc-stanchart-get-first-hong-kong-stablecoin-issuer-licenses>
CoinDesk, "Hong Kong hasn't issued a single HKD stablecoin license after March target," 1 April 2026 — <https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/04/01/hong-kong-hasn-t-issued-a-single-hkd-stablecoin-license-after-march-target>
CoinDesk, "Stablecoin issuers get closer to U.S. federal rules with FDIC's new proposal," 7 April 2026 — <https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/04/07/stablecoin-issuers-get-closer-to-u-s-federal-rules-with-fdic-s-new-proposal>
The Block / Financial Times, "Beijing moves to stop Chinese tech giants from issuing stablecoins in Hong Kong," October 2025 — <https://www.theblock.co/post/375210/beijing-moves-to-stop-chinese-tech-giants-from-issuing-stablecoins-in-hong-kong-ft>
Consumer Finance Monitor, "Treasury Issues NPRM on State Oversight of Stablecoin Issuers Under the GENIUS Act," 14 April 2026 — <https://www.consumerfinancemonitor.com/2026/04/14/treasury-issues-nprm-on-state-oversight-of-stablecoin-issuers-under-the-genius-act/>
Latham & Watkins, "The GENIUS Act of 2025: Stablecoin Legislation Adopted in the US" — <https://www.lw.com/en/insights/the-genius-act-of-2025-stablecoin-legislation-adopted-in-the-us>
Vaultody, "What MiCA Means for Tether (USDT): Delistings, Custody, and the Future of Stablecoins in the EEA," 2026 — <https://vaultody.com/blog/296-what-mica-means-for-tether-usdt-delistings-custody-and-the-future-of-stablecoins-in-the-eea>
Bitcoin.com News, "Stablecoin Market Crosses $320B as Tether USDT Dominance Falls 2.5% in 2026" — <https://news.bitcoin.com/stablecoin-market-crosses-320b-as-tether-usdt-dominance-falls-2-5-in-2026/>
The Block, "JPMorgan says Circle's USDC stablecoin outpaces Tether's USDT in onchain growth," April 2026 — <https://www.theblock.co/post/377031/jpmorgan-circle-usdc-stablecoin-tether-usdt-onchain-growth>
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, "Stablecoins Could Increase Treasury Demand, but Only by Reducing Demand for Other Assets," Economic Bulletin, 2025 — <https://www.kansascityfed.org/research/economic-bulletin/stablecoins-could-increase-treasury-demand-but-only-by-reducing-demand-for-other-assets/>
CoinDesk / Standard Chartered, "U.S. Treasury may boost T-Bill issuance as stablecoins eye $2 trillion market cap," 23 February 2026 — <https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/02/23/u-s-treasury-may-boost-t-bill-issuance-as-stablecoins-eye-usd2-trillion-market-cap-stanchart>
Bloomberg, "Tether's Lutnick Ties and Hoard of Gold, Treasuries Win DC Crypto Support," 2026 — <https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-tether-usa-crypto-ambitions/>
Atlantic Council, "The stablecoin race," Geoeconomics Center, 2026 — <https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/the-stablecoin-race/>
Fintech News HK / PBoC data, "China's Digital Yuan Crosses US$2 Trillion in Transactions as mBridge Scales Up," 2026 — <https://fintechnews.hk/37040/fintechchina/china-digital-yuan-mbridge/>
BIS Working Papers No. 1270, "Stablecoins and safe asset prices" — <https://www.bis.org/publ/work1270.pdf>
Invezz, "Ant Group, JD.com suspend Hong Kong stablecoin plans after Beijing's directive," 20 October 2025 — <https://invezz.com/news/2025/10/20/ant-group-jd-com-suspend-hong-kong-stablecoin-plans-after-beijings-directive/>
