Hong Kong’s central bank has issued a public warning about fraudulent tokens using the tickers “HKDAP” and “HSBC”, which are falsely presenting themselves as licensed Hong Kong stablecoins. According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), these tokens are not issued by, nor connected to, any licensed stablecoin issuer, and any such token currently in the market should be treated as a potential scam. Licensed issuers HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial have separately confirmed they have not launched any stablecoin products yet. The warning comes shortly after Hong Kong granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial under the city’s new stablecoin regulatory regime. HSBC has disclosed plans for an HKD‑denominated stablecoin to be distributed via its PayMe and HSBC HK mobile apps later in 2026, while Anchorpoint has outlined phased plans for an HKDAP stablecoin rollout starting this year. The appearance of similarly named tokens ahead of these official launches suggests scammers are exploiting the gap between licensing announcements and actual product issuance, using familiar banking brands and anticipated tickers to gain investor trust. Regulators are framing this as part of a broader rise in digital asset scam risk, particularly as Hong Kong moves to tightly regulate stablecoins via its new Stablecoins Ordinance, which sets licensing requirements and penalties for unauthorized issuance or misrepresentation. HKMA is urging the public to rely only on official announcements, avoid trading unverified tokens on unregulated platforms, and remain vigilant about any claims of being “licensed” or “regulated” stablecoins. The episode highlights how bank‑branded and “look‑alike” tokens may become a key fraud vector in jurisdictions rolling out formal stablecoin frameworks. "entities":["Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)","HKDAP (fraudulent tokens and planned regulated stablecoin name)","HSBC (bank and impersonated token)","HSBC HK Mobile App","PayMe by HSBC","Anchorpoint Financial","Standard Chartered","Animoca Brands","Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT)","Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance"]}`

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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