Regarding the stablecoin license application, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has released multiple guidelines and explanations.

On July 29, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority released the "Regulatory Guidelines for Licensed Stablecoin Issuers" and the "Guidelines for Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Applicable to Licensed Stablecoin Issuers)" along with related consultation summaries, as well as documents related to the licensing system and application procedures, including the "Summary of the Licensing System for Stablecoin Issuers" and the "Summary of Transitional Provisions for Existing Stablecoin Issuers" effective from August 1, 2025.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority encourages institutions intending to apply for a license to contact the Monetary Authority via email by August 31, 2025, so that it can communicate regulatory expectations and provide appropriate feedback. Licensing will be an ongoing process, and if individual institutions believe they are adequately prepared and wish to be considered early, they should submit their applications by September 30, 2025.
According to the "Summary Explanation of the Stablecoin Issuer Licensing System", the license application process is divided into multiple procedures.
First, a preliminary consultation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
Any organization intending to apply for a license to conduct regulated stablecoin activities should express its intention to the Licensing Division of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. This move facilitates preliminary, informal discussions, allowing the Licensing Division to gain a deeper understanding of the organization's background and business model, as well as ensuring that it fully understands the licensing process and the minimum standards required by the Financial Commissioner.
Secondly, consult the regulatory authority of the headquarters location.
If the applicant's headquarters also engages in digital asset-related businesses or other financial services, and such businesses are regulated in their place of registration, the financial management commissioner may contact the relevant regulatory authority in the location of the headquarters and consider the opinions of the local regulatory authority. Therefore, institutions intending to apply for a license should contact their headquarters and consult the relevant regulatory authority in their location before submitting their application to the financial management commissioner. For example, if a technology company headquartered in the mainland applies for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong, it also needs to communicate with the mainland regulatory authority in advance.
The third is to fill out and submit the application.
After the first two communication matters, the relevant authorities still decided that the application for the license must also submit the necessary documents to the Financial Management Commissioner. The application forms for the license, controlling persons, CEO, stablecoin manager, and directors can be requested from the licensing team.
The fourth is to process the application.
The Financial Management Officer is dedicated to processing license applications as quickly as possible in accordance with the rules, during which the applicant may still decide to withdraw the application. All license applications will be reviewed by the Stablecoin Advisory Committee, which is composed of senior personnel from the Monetary Authority, and one of the senior executives serves as the chairperson. Regarding license matters under the Stablecoin Regulations, the Stablecoin Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the Financial Management Officer.
The fifth is to approve/reject the application.
If the applicant is granted a license, the Financial Management Commissioner will notify the applicant and specify the license number and the effective date of the license in the relevant notification. After obtaining the license, the applicant is authorized to engage in the stablecoin activities related to the application.
If the applicant has not been granted a license, the financial management officer must issue a written notice to the applicant, explaining the decision to refuse the license and the reasons for it.
In addition, the "Summary of the Licensing System for Stablecoin Issuers" also includes the obligations that stablecoin license holders must continuously fulfill, regulatory measures for license holders, and content related to the revocation and temporary suspension of licenses.
For example, according to Article 28 of the Stablecoin Regulation, the financial supervisory commissioner may revoke the stablecoin license issued to an institution for reasons such as the institution's inability to repay debts or liquidate, the licensee failing to provide true and significant application materials, having ceased relevant business activities under the license, not paying the license fees, not paying administrative fines, voluntary cancellation by the institution, and so on. Depending on the actual situation, the financial supervisory commissioner may also temporarily suspend the stablecoin license for a period, but not exceeding six months.
Finally, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority also reminds market participants and institutions that false claims of being a licensed person or applicant are illegal under the Stablecoin Ordinance.