Andy Mukherjee, Columnist

Hong Kong Channels Crypto Chaos Into Daily Use

April 16, 2026 at 7:00 PM UTC

Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia. Previously, he worked for Reuters, the Straits Times and Bloomberg News.

Hong Kong has a history of innovation.

Photo: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

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The techno-anarchist dream fueled by the 2008 Bitcoin revolution was for everyone to be their own bank. Hong Kong’s contribution to that vision in 2026 is a pragmatic shrug: “Why bother, when your bank is already everywhere?”

Last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted its inaugural stablecoin licenses to HSBC Holdings Plc, and Anchorpoint, a consortium of Standard Chartered Plc, Hong Kong Telecommunications Ltd., and Animoca Brands, which makes games and other consumer products for the blockchain. The digital tokens that will clone the Hong Kong dollar 1:1 on decentralized, public ledgers were selected out of 36 applicants.