Hong Kong’s digital-asset ambitions are beginning to move beyond policy announcements and regulatory frameworks into products that people and businesses can actually use.
On October 23, HSBC connected its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, RedCoin (RCHKD), to PayMe, potentially giving 3.3 million users access to stablecoin wallets in stages. Just three days later, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) approved two tokenized money-market funds for public distribution, with round-the-clock secondary-market trading launched on PantherTrade, a platform under Futu.
Although the developments target different parts of the financial system, they point towards the same direction: bringing blockchain-based financial products into everyday payments, investment and capital markets.
For years, Hong Kong has positioned itself as a potential hub for digital assets. Now, stablecoin payments are entering established consumer and corporate channels, while tokenized investment products are beginning to trade beyond conventional market hours.
The market is moving from asking what blockchain technology can do to testing whether people and institutions are willing to use it.
Four years in the making: From policy promises to financial infrastructure
Hong Kong’s latest developments are the result of several years of regulatory groundwork.
On October 31, 2022, the Hong Kong government published its Policy Statement on Development of Virtual Assets, outlining an ambition to establish a regulatory environment that accommodates the entire virtual-asset value chain. The statement addressed licensing, retail-investor access, stablecoins and tokenization.
The next phase focused on building the regulatory infrastructure.
In June 2023, the licensing regime for virtual-asset trading platforms took effect. Later that year, the SFC introduced its regulatory framework for tokenized products, establishing an initial foundation for bringing traditional financial instruments onto blockchain networks.
In March 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched a sandbox for stablecoin issuers, announcing its first participants in July. They included Standard Chartered, Hong Kong Telecommunications and Animoca Brands, which subsequently formed Anchorpoint Financial.
The legislative process followed. The Stablecoins Bill was gazetted on December 6, 2024, and received its first reading on December 18. The Legislative Council passed the bill on May 21, 2025. The Stablecoins Ordinance was gazetted on May 30 and came into effect on August 1.
On April 10, 2026, Hong Kong issued its first stablecoin licences, approving two out of 36 applications. Ten days later, the SFC published a framework for secondary-market trading of tokenized funds.
By October 26, China Asset Management (Hong Kong) and PantherTrade had launched a 24/7 secondary-market trading service for SFC-approved tokenized public funds.
What began as a policy ambition in 2022 is now producing regulated financial products and services.
HSBC takes stablecoins to everyday payments
One of the biggest obstacles to stablecoin adoption has been moving beyond crypto exchanges and into the payment channels people already use.
HSBC’s latest move attempts to address that challenge.
On October 23, the bank officially launched its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, RedCoin (RCHKD), and connected it to PayMe, its popular payments application.
With more than 3.3 million users expected to receive wallet access in stages, the integration gives stablecoins a potential route into an established consumer payment network.
Users will be able to transfer funds to friends and family and make payments at more than 100,000 merchants.
The significance is that stablecoins are no longer being positioned exclusively as instruments for cryptocurrency trading or blockchain-based settlements. They are beginning to enter familiar payment experiences.
HSBC also plans to introduce a stablecoin wallet within its Hong Kong mobile-banking application and support subscriptions to tokenized investment products.
This could eventually connect payments and investments through a common digital-asset infrastructure, allowing stablecoins to serve purposes beyond transferring money.
However, access does not automatically translate into adoption. The real test will be how many PayMe users activate their wallets, how frequently they transact and whether merchants see enough value to encourage continued usage.
Anchorpoint takes a different route: Stablecoins for businesses
While HSBC is leveraging an established consumer payments network, Anchorpoint Financial is approaching stablecoin adoption from the institutional and corporate side.
Formed by Standard Chartered, Hong Kong Telecommunications and Animoca Brands, Anchorpoint developed the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP.
On August 12, HKDAP began its first phase of institutional testing, targeting institutional distributors, businesses and professional investors. Its primary focus includes payments, settlement and applications involving tokenized real-world assets.
Unlike HSBC’s direct consumer-facing approach, Anchorpoint distributes its stablecoin through authorized institutions. These partners can integrate HKDAP into their own platforms and existing business workflows.
Although this approach does not begin with the reach of a large consumer payments application, it offers a different opportunity: embedding stablecoins into specific commercial processes where faster and more flexible settlement could provide practical benefits.
That strategy is already producing identifiable use cases.
In September, Payment Asia, OSL and Anchorpoint announced a corporate-payment application involving logistics and corporate travel, demonstrating an end-to-end business-to-business settlement process.
On October 16, Finloop announced that it had completed a local HKDAP payment in collaboration with Anchorpoint and QFPay HK.
On the same day, Finloop also announced support for a tokenized note that allows HKDAP to be used for subscriptions, redemptions and distributions.
These developments suggest that HKDAP is beginning to move beyond testing the stablecoin itself towards integrating it into actual financial and commercial applications.
However, completing pilot transactions and establishing sustained commercial demand are two very different milestones.
Businesses must be willing to use the stablecoin repeatedly, transaction volumes must grow, and the advantages over existing payment and settlement systems must become clear.
As of October 21, HKDAP had approximately 6.11 million tokens in circulation, reserves of around HK$7.21 million and cumulative transaction volume of approximately HK$35.1 million.
These figures demonstrate that the stablecoin has entered circulation, but they do not yet establish a scaled corporate-payment network. Anchorpoint remains in its Beta Access phase and expects circulation and transaction activity to remain limited during the trial period.
The commercial questions facing the two issuers are therefore becoming clearer.
HSBC must demonstrate that its existing consumer payment network can translate into meaningful stablecoin activity. Anchorpoint must show that its institutional partnerships and corporate use cases can generate recurring settlement demand.
One starts with users; the other starts with business processes.
Ultimately, neither wallet distribution nor the number of partnerships will determine success. The more important measure is how frequently money actually moves through these networks.
Tokenized funds enter the 24/7 trading era
Stablecoin payments are only one part of Hong Kong’s digital-finance ambitions. The other major development is happening in investment markets.
On October 26, China Asset Management (Hong Kong) and PantherTrade, a platform under Futu, launched a round-the-clock secondary-market trading service for tokenized money-market funds.
The initial offering supports two SFC-approved tokenized money-market funds denominated in Hong Kong dollars and US dollars.
Investors can buy and sell fund units through a licensed virtual-asset trading platform 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Why does this matter?
Traditional fund subscriptions and redemptions generally operate within established trading-day, valuation and settlement arrangements. Investors may have to wait for the next dealing window to execute transactions or access their money.
Tokenization introduces another possibility.
By representing fund units as digital tokens, these products can be made available for secondary-market trading. Investors can trade with other market participants without requiring every transaction to trigger a new subscription or redemption directly with the fund.
This creates the potential for greater flexibility, particularly in markets where digital assets and stablecoins operate continuously.
However, 24/7 availability does not automatically mean 24/7 liquidity.
For the model to work effectively, the market needs sufficient buyers and sellers, reasonable bid-ask spreads and reliable settlement arrangements.
The next challenge for tokenized funds is therefore not simply extending trading hours. It is attracting enough participants to make continuous trading commercially useful.
If successful, the model could help connect traditional money-market investments with the always-on infrastructure of digital-asset markets.
Hong Kong’s next challenge: Turning implementation into adoption
Hong Kong’s latest developments demonstrate progress across several layers of its digital-asset ecosystem.
Stablecoins are entering familiar payment applications and corporate settlement processes, while tokenized funds are beginning to trade around the clock.
As Christopher Hui, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, has indicated, the city’s tokenization efforts are moving from the experimental stage towards implementation.
But implementation is not the same as commercial success.
RedCoin has access to an established consumer payments network, but must demonstrate sustained user activity. HKDAP has entered corporate-payment scenarios, but needs to generate recurring transaction demand. Tokenized funds have gained round-the-clock trading capabilities, but must develop sufficient market depth and liquidity.
This means the metrics worth watching in Hong Kong’s Web3 market are changing.
Instead of focusing exclusively on licensing approvals, pilot programmes and the number of projects launched, attention will increasingly shift towards:
- Stablecoin adoption: Active wallets, transaction frequency and circulation.
- Payment activity: Merchant acceptance, corporate settlements and recurring payment volumes.
- Tokenized fund markets: Trading volumes, liquidity and investor participation.
- Capital efficiency: Whether tokenized assets can support more efficient investment, settlement and financing activities.
These indicators will provide a clearer picture of whether Hong Kong’s digital-asset infrastructure is creating sustainable commercial value.
From building infrastructure to moving real capital
Hong Kong has spent several years developing the regulatory and institutional foundations for its digital-asset market. The recent launches suggest that this work is beginning to translate into products with measurable commercial potential.
However, the next stage will be considerably more demanding.
Issuing a stablecoin is one thing; getting consumers and businesses to use it regularly is another. Tokenizing a fund is an important technical achievement, but building a liquid secondary market requires sustained investor participation.
Hong Kong has begun turning its digital-finance promises into reality, but the real test is whether these products can move beyond launches and become part of everyday financial activity.
The next phase of competition will not simply be about who can issue a stablecoin, launch a tokenized fund or put more assets on-chain. It will be about who can successfully integrate these products into payment, investment and financing workflows.
Ultimately, the winners will be those that make digital assets useful enough for capital to not only enter the ecosystem, but circulate within it repeatedly.
That is when Hong Kong’s investment in digital-asset regulation and infrastructure will begin to demonstrate its full economic value.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Markets involve risk; invest with caution.