A stablecoin license has just been issued. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority reminds the public: scams are impersonating HSBC and “sending tokens with a “dǐngdiǎn” (bait-and-release) scheme”!

Hong Kong’s first batch of stablecoin issuer licensees had just obtained their licenses from HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial, and yet the market already saw fake tokens that impersonate the “HSBC” and “HKDAP” codes.

Early April this year, Hong Kong issued its first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses. HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial were the first to secure the approvals, but just as various parties were eagerly awaiting developments, scammers had already moved. Hong Kong’s HKMA recently warned that fake tokens are already circulating in the market, falsely claiming links to the 2 licensed issuers, and therefore urged investors to stay alert.

The HKMA said on Tuesday that tokens using the codes “HKDAP” or “HSBC” are currently appearing in the market. However, those tokens are not issued by any licensed stablecoin issuer, and they have no relationship with the issuers.

The HKMA also noted that both HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial have stated that they have not issued any regulated stablecoins. It therefore called on the public to remain vigilant against any fraudulent activities or scams that borrow the names of licensed institutions or falsely claim a connection to their stablecoins.

Meanwhile, both HSBC Bank and Anchorpoint Financial have also issued statements to strongly deny any association with these tokens, and to clarify that no stablecoin has yet been launched in Hong Kong.

HSBC Bank said it plans to launch a Hong Kong dollar–denominated stablecoin in the second half of this year, and at that time it will be provided through PayMe and the HSBC Hong Kong mobile wealth management application. Anchorpoint Financial previously revealed that it expects to begin rolling out its own stablecoin “HKDAP” in phases starting in the second quarter of this year.

In a prior report, Blockhead reported that “Anchorpoint Financial” (formerly known as Anchorpoint Financial Technology) is a joint venture jointly established by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Telecom, and Hong Kong Web3 company Animoca Brands, with the aim of building a business model centered on “issuing and promoting regulated stablecoins.”

Since July 2024, Animoca Brands, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Telecom have teamed up to participate in the “stablecoin issuer sandbox” launched by the HKMA, jointly exploring how stablecoins can play a key role in the development of the financial and payments markets by combining Web3 with traditional finance, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a global digital asset hub.

• This article is republished with authorization from: Blockhead
• Original title: Fake tokens impersonate HSBC and Anchorpoint stablecoins! HKMA urges vigilance: don’t fall for scams
• Original author: Blockhead MEL