HSBC has launched RedCoin, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin that can be used by more than 3.3 million PayMe users in Hong Kong. The bank said customers will be able to activate wallets in the coming days, send the token to friends and make payments at more than 100,000 merchants on the PayMe network, according to Decrypt.
A bank-issued token for everyday payments
RedCoin, identified by the ticker RCHKD, is designed to maintain a value of one Hong Kong dollar. Stablecoins are digital tokens intended to track the value of a conventional currency. HSBC’s launch allows users to access a bank-issued blockchain-based payment asset without opening an account at a crypto exchange.
The token is currently available through PayMe, HSBC’s payments app. The bank plans to add it to its Hong Kong Mobile Banking app later this year. John O’Neill, HSBC’s managing director of digital assets and currencies, said the bank intends to expand RedCoin into additional products and wholesale corporate and institutional applications.
HSBC received its issuer licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April. The authority is Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, and the licensing framework began operating in August 2025. HSBC was among at least 36 companies competing for approval by September of that year.
Reserves, technology and protections
HSBC’s reserve tracker showed approximately $10.2 million worth of RedCoin in circulation shortly after launch. The bank said the tokens were backed entirely by $10.4 million in cash. HSBC expects the first independent attestation of those reserves—an external auditor’s report confirming the cash backing—after the fourth quarter of 2026.
RedCoin operates on HSBC’s private ledger rather than a public blockchain such as Ethereum. At launch, balances could not move between PayMe and HSBC’s banking app. The token is also not a bank deposit, meaning it is not covered by Hong Kong’s statutory Deposit Protection Scheme for savings accounts.
HSBC’s planned expansion
Later this year, HSBC plans to let customers using its Hong Kong Mobile Banking app buy into a tokenized share class of its Hong Kong dollar money market fund. The fund invests cash in short-term debt, while “tokenized” ownership means the holding is represented digitally on a ledger rather than recorded only in a conventional registry.
The launch places HSBC among traditional banks seeking a larger role in digital payments. In September, 21 lenders, including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, announced plans for a joint dollar stablecoin aimed at a launch in the first half of 2027. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC currently dominate a stablecoin market valued at more than $300 billion, although much of that activity takes place on trading platforms rather than in retail payments.
Current market picture
Moneyiar market data at 22:39 on October 25, 2026, showed Ethereum at $2,342.0570017305, up 0.02% over 24 hours but down 1.77% over seven days. STABLE was at $0.0265498473, down 2.51% in 24 hours and up 10.84% over seven days. Monad stood at $0.0215496181, while Comedian was $0.0575169485; both were lower over 24 hours, by 0.49% and 4.44%, respectively.
