HSBC debuts RedCoin stablecoin for 3.3M PayMe users

HSBC has begun rolling out RedCoin (RCHKD), its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin and first digital token, to the more than 3.3 million users of its PayMe app — the first retail stablecoin launch under Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance, starting Oct. 23. Users can activate a stablecoin wallet in the app over the coming days to send money and pay at 100,000+ merchants; the token is fully backed by high-quality liquid assets held in separate accounts and is not listed on crypto exchanges.

• The rollout follows the HKMA granting its first stablecoin issuer licenses in April to HSBC and Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint, whose HKDAP token began a limited institutional rollout in August.
• HSBC plans to add a RedCoin wallet to its Hong Kong banking app later this year and let customers use the token for tokenized investments, including a new share class of its Hong Kong dollar money market fund, before expanding into wholesale and institutional use cases.

The launch brings a systemically important global bank into everyday stablecoin distribution as Hong Kong pushes to position itself as a digital-asset hub.