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HSBC and Standard Chartered Venture secure Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licenses

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HSBC and Standard Chartered Venture secure Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licenses

HSBC and the Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint Financial have been granted Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licenses.

Summary

  • The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has granted the first stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and the Standard Chartered-backed venture Anchorpoint Financial.
  • These initial approvals follow several months of delays after the regulator missed its original target to begin the licensing process in March.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released the names of the successful applicants on Friday, signaling the start of a new era for regulated digital assets in the region. 

Among the approved firms is HSBC, a dominant local note-issuing bank, alongside Anchorpoint Financial, which operates as a joint venture between Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecommunications.

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Oversight and  enforcement standards 

These approvals establish the first group of participants under a licensing regime that officially launched on Aug. 1, 2025.

Under this regime, stablecoin issuers are required to obtain an HKMA license by meeting specific rules, including those for reserve backing and guaranteed redemption paths for users. Other obligations include following strict governance protocols and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures to remain in good standing.

The Legislation also grants the regulator the authority to investigate potential violations and police the sector, including the authority to levy fines, suspend operations, or revoke licenses entirely if an issuer fails to meet its legal obligations.

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The rollout follows a period of administrative delays that saw the regulator miss its original goals for the year. Back in February, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue stated that a “very small number of issuers” would be licensed by March. 

While that deadline passed without an announcement, the regulator stated on April 1 that it was actively moving the process forward to finalize the first batch of applicants.

Analysts had largely foreseen this outcome following mid-March reports that highlighted HSBC and the Standard Chartered-backed venture as the most likely recipients of the licenses.

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Crypto World

XRP Price Flashes Multiple Bottom Signals As Bulls Defend $1.30.

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XRP Price Flashes Multiple Bottom Signals As Bulls Defend $1.30.

XRP (XRP) has been in an eight-month downtrend, with momentum and onchain indicators at levels that previously coincided with macro bottoms.

Data from TradingView reveals that the relative strength index (RSI) of the XRP/BTC ratio is at 24, the most oversold level since October 2025. 

Such low levels in the daily RSI have marked market bottoms for the ratio, ultimately leading to 65% to 345% XRP price breakouts against Bitcoin as seen late 2024 and 2025.

XRP/BTC daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The chart above also shows that the XRP/BTC pair is trading within a long consolidation range, which has previously acted as a strong launching pad for the ratio.

The last time XRP bottomed against Bitcoin around this zone was in June 2025. It marked the beginning of a 61% increase in the XRP/BTC ratio, accompanying a 92% XRP price rally to a multi-year high of $3.66.

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Other instances shown by the yellow bars in the chart reinforce the reliability of this level in marking macro bottoms for XRP/BTC. 

MVRV Z-Score suggests XRP price is bottoming

XRP’s MVRV Z-score is hovering near zero, a level that historically aligns with accumulation zones and market bottoms.

This indicates that most holders are close to breakeven, reducing sell pressure and signalling potential downside exhaustion. Similar patterns appeared in 2021, 2022 and 2024 before major rallies.

XRP MVRV Z-score vs. price. Source: Glassnode

Note that the last time XRP’s MVRV Z-score fell to similar levels in late 2024 coincided with a macro market bottom at $0.30 and preceded a multi-month rally, with the XRP/USD pair rising 500% to a multi-year high above $3. 

Meanwhile, the 0.80 MVRV pricing band, which has historically marked cycle bottoms, is currently at $1.14, coinciding with a 15-month low reached on Feb. 6.

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XRP: MVRV pricing bands. Source: Glassnode

These onchain metrics suggest that XRP is undervalued and may continue the ongoing recovery, potentially rising toward $1.70 or higher

XRP price must hold above $1.30 

Meanwhile, XRP/USD remains cautiously bullish as long as it holds the $1.25-$1.30 support zone. 

“$XRP is sustaining the major support zone between $1.30-$1.25 levels since early Feb’26,” trader ChiefraT said in an X post on Friday, adding:

“If this zone continues to hold, then a short-term bounce towards $1.45 can’t be ruled out.”

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The importance of this support level is reinforced by cost basis distribution. The heatmap below shows that nearly 1.73 billion XRP were acquired around this price.

XRP cost-basis distribution heatmap. Source: Glassnode

Below that, the next line of defence is the $1.15 demand zone, where the 200-week simple moving average is. 

If XRP/USD drops below this level, it would be in a free-fall toward the measured target of the bear flag at $0.80, or 41% below the current price.

As Cointelegraph reported, holding $1.27-$1.30 would be a sign of strength among the bulls who must push the XRP/USD pair toward the $1.61 range high to regain control. 

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