HKMA Issues Critical Warning on Unregulated Stablecoins Like AxCNH - New Regulations Explained

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued a stern warning to investors, clarifying that it has not approved any stablecoin issuers and declaring the marketing of such unregulated products as illegal. This regulatory action follows the announcement by Hong Kong-based AnchorX regarding its AxCNH stablecoin pegged to the offshore Chinese yuan. While AnchorX claimed to hold a license from Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority and promoted the coin's utility for cross-border payments and RWA tokenization, the HKMA's official statement on WeChat emphasized that no entity is licensed for stablecoin issuance in Hong Kong, urging the public to exercise extreme caution. This development represents the first major test of Hong Kong's new stablecoin regulatory framework, which became effective in August and mandates strict licensing, capital, and governance standards for issuers. The warning coincides with recent reports of China's securities regulator advising brokerages to halt RWA tokenization activities in Hong Kong over risk management concerns.