Standard Chartered in a Jolly Ride to Hong Kong Stablecoin Licenses – Who Knew?

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Well, hold onto your bowler hats, folks! It seems Standard Chartered has decided to moonwalk right into the Hong Kong stablecoin scene, partnering with Animoca Brands and HKT-because nothing says “we’re serious” like a joint venture that sounds like a new cocktail. Cheers! 🍸

Standard Chartered’s JV First In Line to Get a Hong Kong Stablecoin Badge of Honor

According to the latest scribbles from Animoca Brands (because what’s more thrilling than blockchain talk at a dinner party?), the company has coalesced with Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong branch and the telecom behemoth HKT to form a shiny new outfit called Anchorpoint Financial. Fancy! They’re all about piecing together a scheme for issuing and pushing stablecoins, like digital cash that’s as steady as a Luxembourgian bank account. 📈

The Hong Kong government – ever the trendsetters – passed their Stablecoin Ordinance on August 1st, giving the green light to anyone mildly interested in issuing fiat-backed tokens. And who better to lead the parade than our friends at Anchorpoint, who have already raised their hand to get a license from the oh-so-enthusiastic HKMA, the city’s money watchdog. How charming.

Evan Auyang, the big cheese at Animoca Brands, went on record saying, “We’re jolly proud to partner with Standard Chartered and HKT to form Anchorpoint and apply for a stablecoin license. Our goal? To make stablecoins as common as dim sum in Hong Kong’s financial dim sum basket. Web3 has a lot of promise-like a puppy in a paper bag-and we’re just getting started!” 🐶💰

And just in case you thought Animoca was all about digital rabbits and pixelated collectibles, think again. They’re based in Hong Kong, investing heavily in blockchain gaming and NFTs, while HKT, the telecom giant, is basically the fancy phone company you’d call when you need a sip of the digital future.

Meanwhile, our old friend Standard Chartered, that venerable British banking institution, has recently dipped its toes into the digital pond with a Bitcoin and Ethereum trading desk-a true milestone, since G-SIBs (that’s ‘Really Important Banks,’ if you’re playing at home) don’t usually do these kinds of reckless stunts. It’s like a lion hanging out with a bunch of kittens-big, unpredictable, and a little bit dangerous. 🦁

Now, don’t hold your breath for the first stablecoin to be issued anytime tomorrow; reports suggest 2026 might be more realistic-unless the regulators suddenly develop a sense of humor and speed things up. Only a select few will probably get their licenses, so it’s a bit of a financial Royal Rumble. 👀

Bitcoin’s Weekly Soap Opera

Bitcoin, that old digital warhorse, managed to vault above $117,000 Thursday-just to stumble back to $115,900 by the weekend. Typical. The tiny investors, or ‘shrimp,’ ‘crabs,’ and ‘fish’ of the crypto world-according to Glassnode-have been violently buying the dip, trying to outsmart the big miners, who are probably still asleep in their digital beds.

Their little hands-probably not so little in spirit-have been gobbling up more Bitcoin than the miners are squirreling away, proving once again that while giants may lurk, it’s the small fry who play the real game. Or just buy the dip. Same difference.

So, the next time you see a tiny crypto investor flashing a smirk, just remember: they might be the ones holding the line while the bigwigs nap. Cheers to the little guys! 🥂

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2025-08-09 00:54