Standard Chartered teams up with Animoca Brands to issue Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin

Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands, and HKT have formed a joint venture to apply for a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin license.

Standard Chartered‘s Hong Kong branch, crypto venture firm Animoca Brands, and HKT have teamed up to launch a joint venture focused on issuing a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin as the region signals its readiness to strengthen its position in the digital asset market.

In a Feb. 17 blog announcement, Animoca said the new joint venture entity will apply for a license under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s updated regulatory framework, though didn’t elaborate on the timeframe.

Animoca will help the venture tap into crypto-native opportunities and “explore innovative use cases across the web3,” while HKT will bring its mobile wallet expertise to “enable the JV to develop innovative stablecoin use cases,” according to the announcement.

Bill Winters, group chief executive, Standard Chartered, says the development of different forms of tokenized money is “integral to the advancement of this industry.”

“That is why we are actively involved in various central bank digital currencies, tokenized deposits and, of course, stablecoins projects. We are introducing solutions and instruments that service this market and meet the growing client demand.”

Bill Winters

Although Winters didn’t mention the network for the HKD-backed stablecoin, he noted that stablecoins play a critical role like “public chain instruments with proven use cases.” Mary Huen, CEO of Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, stated that the aim is to launch a stablecoin “that can be used securely by institutions and individuals across a wide number of use cases.”