HSBC launches stablecoin RedCoin and plans to launch a tokenized fund with a minimum investment of HKD 100

HSBC has begun to roll out its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin, RedCoin, in phases to over 3.3 million PayMe users, bringing regulated digital currency payments into the bank’s existing retail payment platform.

• HSBC has begun to roll out its Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin, RedCoin, in phases to over 3.3 million PayMe users.
• Customers do not need to open a separate account or maintain a minimum balance in order to activate the RedCoin wallet.
• HSBC disclosed on October 23 that the trading volume of RedCoin was 80.58 million Hong Kong dollars, with reserve assets amounting to 81.58 million Hong Kong dollars.
• This line plans to launch a tokenized money market fund subscription service by the end of the year, with a minimum investment amount of HKD 100.
• HSBC's launch this time follows its acquisition of a stablecoin license in April; its competitor Anchorpoint has already been serving institutional clients.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post on October 23, after the phased launch, customers will be able to use RedCoin to transfer funds to other users and make payments to merchants. HSBC expects to complete the first phase of the launch by the end of this weekend, while the tokenized investment service is planned to be launched later this year.

HSBC launched RedCoin in Hong Kong through PayMe.

In the first phase, existing PayMe users are allowed to enable the RedCoin wallet after updating the application. Customers do not need to open a new bank account or maintain a minimum balance to use this service.

Once the wallet is enabled, it will support peer-to-peer transfers as well as payments to merchants that accept PayMe. PayMe's person in charge, Lawrence Li, stated that the bank has designed this experience to be as close as possible to the payment processes currently used by customers.

Before going live on Friday, Li stated that the primary task in the initial phase is to ensure the service is stable and reliable, while also avoiding imposing unnecessary requirements on customers. This feature is being rolled out gradually, rather than being made available to all eligible users at once.

According to HSBC's official RedCoin product page, this token can be exchanged for Hong Kong dollars at a 1:1 ratio, but applicable terms must be complied with. This stablecoin operates on HSBC's own distributed ledger network, and token creation and transfers are handled by smart contracts.

In addition, this line of the file states that the RedCoin wallet is not a regular deposit account and therefore is not protected by the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme. Customers will access this stablecoin through an application approved by HSBC, rather than through an unrestricted public blockchain wallet.

HSBC disclosed that the circulation scale of RedCoin is 80.58 million Hong Kong dollars.

HSBC's disclosure on October 23 showed that the circulation scale of RedCoin was 80.58 million Hong Kong dollars, and the value of reserve assets was 81.58 million Hong Kong dollars. This means that on the date of disclosure, the reserve scale was about 1 million Hong Kong dollars higher than the value of the outstanding tokens.

This line indicates that the disclosed reserve assets are in cash, and it is stated that independent assurance reports regarding the supporting assets will be published regularly. According to their product documentation, the first independent assurance report is expected to be released after the end of the fourth quarter of 2026.

This circulation scale provides a preliminary indicator for observing the issuance volume of RedCoin, but it does not indicate how many PayMe customers have already enabled their wallets. HSBC has not disclosed the number of completed RedCoin transactions, nor has it revealed what proportion of its current users have adopted this feature.

This launch follows closely on HSBC's announcement regarding RedCoin in September. At that time, crypto.news reported that the bank was planning to name its stablecoin before launching it in the second half of the year. At that stage, HSBC had not yet issued the token, nor had a public launch date been confirmed.

Tokenized funds will be launched through HSBC's app.

HSBC plans to integrate RedCoin into its Hong Kong mobile banking app by the end of 2026, enabling customers to subscribe to tokenized investment products. The first product to be launched is a Hong Kong dollar money market fund, with a minimum subscription amount of HKD 100.

The plan also includes the launch of tokenized gold and investment funds managed by third parties in subsequent stages. However, no specific launch dates for these additional products have been announced, nor have all the fund managers involved been identified.

The Managing Director of HSBC’s Digital Assets and Currency, John O, stated that tokenized settlement can reduce delays associated with traditional investment processing. However, the planned investment functionality is independent of the initial payment functionality provided by RedCoin on PayMe.

HSBC product documents indicate that the wallet with the identifier RedCoin within PayMe will remain separate from the wallets in the Future Bank application. According to the frequently asked questions published by the bank, customers will not be able to transfer RedCoin directly between these two wallets.

The licensed stablecoin market in Hong Kong is expanding.

On April 10, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint in accordance with Hong Kong's "Stablecoin Regulations." HSBC holds license FRS02, while Anchorpoint Financial supported by Standard Chartered holds license FRS01.

Anchorpoint has previously been launched through a controlled institutional approach, and in August, Standard Chartered became its first banking distributor. This service was initially aimed at institutions and professional investors, while HSBC made it available to users by leveraging existing consumer payment applications through PayMe.

The stablecoin licensing framework in Hong Kong requires issuers to meet requirements regarding reserves, redemptions, and governance. HSBC has announced the RedCoin terms, which specify that tokens can be redeemed at face value, and the disclosure of their reserves will also be updated regularly on the bank's website.