EB SECURITIES: The first batch of Hong Kong Stablecoin licenses has been issued, ushering in a new era for the digital asset industry.

EB Securities released a research report stating that the first batch of stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong have been issued, shifting the industry logic from "expected catalyst" to "license realization". The report suggests focusing on the following directions for configuration: 1) Beneficiaries of stablecoin licenses; 2) Brokerage firms and exchanges that are likely to provide distribution channels for stablecoins; 3) Companies focusing on landing terminal scenarios for digital assets and cross-border payment services; 4) Companies providing IT services related to digital assets for banks and other financial institutions; 5) Companies providing hardware and security infrastructure such as digital wallets, secure chips, and encryption technologies. On April 10th, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission granted stablecoin issuer licenses to Anchorage Financial Technology Limited and HSBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited in accordance with the Stablecoin Regulation, allowing them to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong, effective immediately. The high regulatory threshold and strict standards for landing stablecoin licenses emphasize a global compliance benchmark and mark a milestone in the compliance era of Hong Kong's digital asset industry. EB Securities' main points are as follows: Stablecoin licenses issued in Hong Kong will promote the city's upgrade to a "center for blockchain-based payment and clearing infrastructure". As of the latest data, the Securities and Futures Commission has issued licenses to 12 virtual asset trading platforms, allowing them to provide digital asset trading services through comprehensive account arrangements. The compliance trading platform licenses in Hong Kong address the issue of "trading compliance", while stablecoin licenses tackle the issue of "compliance with on-chain fund carriers". With the combination of the two, Hong Kong will truly have a complete digital asset market infrastructure. Hong Kong's stablecoin issuance will strengthen its role as an "offshore experimental field for China's digital finance", opening up growth opportunities for the digital asset industry. 1) The strategic significance of Hong Kong's stablecoin launch lies in its potential to serve as an offshore experimental field for China's digital financial innovation. With the introduction of the Stablecoin Act in the U.S. in July 2025, marking the formal establishment of a regulatory framework for digital stablecoins, the launch of stablecoins in Hong Kong will significantly aid in the internationalization of the Chinese Yuan and exploration of its payment system diversification. 2) The significance of Hong Kong's stablecoin for DIGIHUMAN RMB lies in system coordination and external interfaces, rather than direct substitution. DIGIHUMAN RMB represents the digitalization of sovereign currency, while Hong Kong stablecoins represent a circulating tool in compliant offshore scenarios, suggesting a future division of labor rather than competition between the two. 3) The issuance of stablecoin licenses will reshape the digital asset ecosystem, break down barriers between traditional finance and digital assets, enhance market compliance depth and stability, accelerate industry consolidation, highlight compliance premiums, and potentially further increase industry concentration. In the long run, Hong Kong's stablecoin license business will solidify its position as a compliance hub for digital assets in Asia and drive the global development of stablecoins towards standardization. Cross-border payments and real-world application scenarios will be a policy focus, likely driving efficiency upgrades in the traditional financial system. 1) The issuance of stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong will drive the technological transformation and upgrade of the traditional financial system, with a focus on real-world scenarios such as cross-border payments, retail transactions, supply chain finance, and smart contract settlements. 2) In the future, compliant stablecoins embedded in existing account systems, payment systems, and trading systems are expected to reduce intermediary costs and improve issues such as slow settlements, high fees, and long processing times in traditional systems, enhancing overall transaction efficiency. Hong Kong's pioneering issuance of licenses is an important step in the global stablecoin regulatory competition, with the licenses themselves creating a scarcity premium. From the supply side, the high threshold, slow pace, and limited quantity of stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong mean that the licenses naturally possess scarcity. In terms of beneficiaries, 1) The first to benefit will be the licensed issuers and the trading infrastructure. The core of the Hong Kong stablecoin value chain is not just the stablecoin itself, but the custody, clearing, market-making, distribution, compliance monitoring, and institutional access capabilities formed around its issuance. 2) The fact that bank-based entities received licenses indicates that Hong Kong's regulatory focus is on the "bank-led, technology-coordinated" path, as banks have natural advantages in reserve custody, institutional clearance, and enterprise chain account services. 3) In terms of DIGIHUMAN RMB, the gradual maturity of Hong Kong's stablecoin system will provide broader space for the future cross-border applications, offshore circulation interfaces, and cross-border settlements of DIGIHUMAN RMB. 4) The landing of stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong does not mean an immediate surge in demand. The current use of stablecoins is still highly dependent on compliance trading platform connectivity, and it will take time for scenarios such as cross-border e-commerce, retail payments, and supply chain finance to truly gain volume. Risk analysis: The impact of the license issuance may not meet expectations, and there is uncertainty regarding policy regulations and jurisdictional restrictions.