Summary: Asia’s 2026 reality for bank‑issued stablecoins is clear: HKMA licensing (with HK$25M capital, HQLA‑only reserves, full Travel Rule), MAS SCS badges (5‑day redemption, monthly attestations), and Japan’s trust‑type, multi‑chain issuance are converging with tokenised‑deposit rails (EnsembleTX, Partior, mBridge) and Basel’s Group 1b capital regime by January 1, 2026. The winners will treat this as a procurement and integration program, not just a Solidity milestone.

Title: The New Standard for Bank‑Issued Stablecoins in Asia

Hook — the specific technical headache your banking team is living right now

• Your product spec says “regulated, bank‑issued stablecoin,” but your integration diagram still shows a generic ERC‑20 on a public chain with a manual CSV upload to core banking.
• Compliance is asking how you’ll meet HKMA’s new reserves, AML/KYC and Travel Rule requirements on Day 1, while Treasury wants RTGS‑synchronised redemption and 24/7 liquidity for tokenised MMFs and deposits.
• Meanwhile, Architecture is being told to “be interoperable” with mBridge, Partior, and Swift’s CBDC connector—and to prove Group 1b capital treatment under Basel by January 1, 2026. (hkma.gov.hk)

Agitate — what’s actually at risk (dates, capital, reputation)

• Miss HKMA’s transitional window and you’re off‑side by the end of January 2026; provisional licenses lapse, and you’re stuck in an “orderly wind‑down” instead of a launch. That’s a reputational hit with corporate clients who were promised programmable settlement. (sidley.com)
• Fail to earn “Group 1b” classification and your stablecoin exposure gets punitive treatment; at best you lose cost advantages, at worst your treasury economics break. Implementation of the Basel cryptoasset standard (including targeted stablecoin amendments) lands January 1, 2026. (bis.org)
• Deliver a chain‑level MVP that cannot pass Travel Rule due diligence or monthly reserve attestations and your “launch” stalls in InfoSec review, not production. HKMA’s AML guideline expects interoperable Travel Rule tech with confidentiality controls; MAS expects monthly reserve confirmation, five‑day redemption, and allows overseas custodians only with A‑ ratings and a Singapore branch. (hkma.gov.hk)

Who this is for (and the exact keywords your stakeholders care about)

• CIO/CTO (bank): ISO 20022, RTGS alignment (HKD CHATS/MAS RTGS), HSM/EIP‑1271 corporate signing, 24/7 settlement, interoperability with Partior/mBridge/Swift connector. (partior.com)
• Head of Payments/Treasury Ops: DvP/PvP, intraday liquidity, tokenised MMFs for reserves, real‑time redemption SLAs, LCR/NSFR implications, Basel Group 1b eligibility. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Chief Compliance/AML: HKMA licensed‑issuer rules (HK$25M paid‑up capital; HQLA reserves with segregation; Travel Rule technology due diligence), MAS SCS (par‑value redemption ≤5 business days; monthly attestations; custodian rules), JFSA trust‑type issuance and implications for KYC at transfer layer. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Head of Digital/Tokenisation: Project EnsembleTX timeline for real‑value tokenised deposit settlement via HKD RTGS through 2026; Partior live cross‑border payments; mBridge MVP and corridor reality. (hkma.gov.hk)

What “bank‑issued stablecoin” means in Asia in 2026 (no fluff—only what you must implement)

1. Hong Kong (HKMA “Stablecoins Ordinance”)

• Minimum paid‑up share capital: HK$25,000,000 for licensed issuers (unless an authorised institution). (hkma.gov.hk)
• Reserves: 100% backing in high‑quality, high‑liquidity assets—cash, ≤3‑month deposits, short‑dated government/central‑bank paper; tokenised representations of eligible assets are explicitly allowed if you evidence quality/liquidity. Segregation via independent trust arrangements is required. (hkma.gov.hk)
• AML/Travel Rule: must adopt an interoperable Travel Rule solution; conduct counterparty due diligence on beneficiary VASPs/FIs; protect confidentiality and integrity of originator/beneficiary data. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Timeline risk: Regime effective August 1, 2025; transitional provisions and hard stop on unlicensed activity by early 2026 highlighted in legal guidance. (hkma.gov.hk)

1. Singapore (MAS “SCS” label)

• Redemption: par at ≤5 business days. Base capital: ≥S$1M or 50% of annual OPEX (higher applies). Monthly independent reserve confirmations; annual audit. Overseas custodians allowed if credit rating ≥A‑ and with a Singapore branch. Initial constraint to Singapore‑issued SCS. (straitstimes.com)
• Scope: SGD or G10‑pegged single‑currency stablecoins issued in Singapore; “MAS‑regulated stablecoin” label only if you meet all conditions. (coindesk.com)

1. Japan (Payment Services Act—trust/bank issuance; Progmat)

• Only licensed banks, trust companies, or registered money transfer agents may issue fiat‑backed stablecoins; the three megabanks (MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho) plan joint issuance with target practical use by March 2026; multi‑chain issuance via Progmat is designed for public chains with bankruptcy‑remote trust structures. (finance.yahoo.com)
• Regulatory nuance that drives design: for certain trust‑type, publicly‑issued tokens, MUFG indicated that user‑level KYC may not be required at the transfer layer—altering how you enforce allowlists/limits if you deploy on permissionless chains. This must be reconciled with institutional AML policies. (ledgerinsights.com)

1. Interoperability you can’t ignore

• Project mBridge reached MVP in mid‑2024 with BoT, CBUAE, PBoC‑DCI, HKMA (Saudi Central Bank joined 2024), advancing multicurrency CBDC settlement. (bis.org)
• HKMA Project EnsembleTX: “real‑value” tokenised deposit transactions through 2026 with interbank settlement initially via HKD RTGS; roadmap to 24/7 tokenised central bank money. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Partior is live: Deutsche Bank and DBS executed euro‑denominated cross‑border payments; Deutsche joined as settlement bank/investor—evidence that deposit‑token rails exist today. (partior.com)
• Swift’s CBDC connector is moving from experiments to broader pilots, giving banks a path to link DLT networks with existing rails and ISO 20022 flows. (swift.com)

What leading banks are standardising in their architecture (2026 playbook)

• Policy‑driven token contracts
  • Transfer‑restricted tokens (e.g., ERC‑20 + compliance guards, or standards like ERC‑3643‑style controls) mapped to bank KYC tiers, Travel Rule counterparties, and geo controls.
  • EIP‑1271 corporate signature verification for treasury wallets; HSM‑anchored key ceremonies; chain‑agnostic allowlists.
• Reserve operations
  • “HQLA ladder” that matches HKMA eligible assets (cash, ≤3‑month deposits, short‑dated sovereigns), with the option to hold tokenised MMFs or tokenised T‑bills where permissible; monthly attestations automated with on‑chain Merkle proofs and auditor‑signed digests. HKMA explicitly permits tokenised representations if you evidence quality/liquidity. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Redemption and treasury integration
  • ISO 20022 messaging adapters to trigger on‑chain mint/burn and fiat legs via RTGS; SLAs aligned to MAS 5‑day redemption and HKMA “full‑backing at all times.”
• Interop by design
  • Gateways to Partior/mBridge/Swift connector; atomic DvP/PvP smart‑contract libraries that settle tokenised deposits vs tokenised assets; EnsembleTX playbooks for HKD RTGS now, tokenised CeBM later. (hkma.gov.hk)
• AML/Privacy
  • Travel Rule orchestration with counterparty discovery, message encryption, and sanctions/address screening; selective disclosure patterns (ZK‑assisted proofs for attributes like “institutional wallet” or “jurisdiction‑in‑scope”) where regulators permit, anchored by HKMA guidance on protecting confidentiality and due diligence on the tech provider. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Capital outcomes
  • Evidence for Group 1b: stabilisation/redemption tests, supervised issuer status, and reserve quality per Basel’s targeted 2024 amendments (effective 2026). Build the dossier early so Treasury can model RWA now. (bis.org)

7Block Labs methodology — designed for regulated, bank‑issued money

1. Regulatory design sprints (4–6 weeks per jurisdiction)

• HK: Map reserves, trust segregation, and redemption flows to the HKMA guideline; specify Travel Rule stack and counterparty due‑diligence procedures with auditable runbooks (policy‑as‑code + SOC workflows). (hkma.gov.hk)
• SG: Engineer SCS compliance—par redemption within five business days, monthly reserve attestations, custodian rating checks, “Singapore‑only issuance” guardrails. (straitstimes.com)
• JP: Select issuance path (bank vs trust‑type); Progmat multi‑chain deployment plan; KYC/allowlist model for public vs permissioned networks aligned to internal AML. (prnewswire.com)

1. Reference architecture (12 weeks to MVP)

• Permissioned core ledger + permissionless distribution where business needs it; EIP‑1271‑enabled treasury wallets; role‑based transfer controls; redemption microservices with ISO 20022 adapters.
• Interop connectors: EnsembleTX RTGS hooks, Partior endpoints, and Swift CBDC connector pilots; automated DvP/PvP libraries with time‑bounded atomicity and fallback netting. (hkma.gov.hk)

1. Controls and audits baked in

• Reserve reconciliation engine with end‑of‑day HQLA laddering, stress haircuts, and over‑collateralisation alerts (HKMA expects prudent buffers above full backing).
• Continuous Travel Rule testing in staging against multiple counterpart solutions; quarterly red‑team exercises for sanctions circumvention patterns. (hkma.gov.hk)

1. GTM and corridor activation

• Corridor playbooks: HKD↔USD (Partior), HKD domestic (EnsembleTX), JPY corporate settlement (Progmat‑based) with a clear path to mBridge corridors when eligible. (partior.com)

What good looks like in 2026 — provable GTM metrics (the scorecard we sign up to)

• Regulatory readiness
  • HKMA: “audit‑ready” evidence packs (reserves policy, trust deed, Travel Rule provider due diligence, AML runbooks) delivered by Week 8; minimum paid‑up capital documented; reserve eligibility mapping with tokenised‑asset justification where used. (hkma.gov.hk)
  • MAS: par redemption test results (≤5 business days), monthly attestation pipeline live with auditor workflow, custodian rating/branch checks. (straitstimes.com)
• Interoperability
  • At least two live rails proved in pilot: Partior cross‑border tokenised deposit payment and EnsembleTX HKD RTGS interbank settlement; optional Swift CBDC connector sandbox test for ISO 20022 round‑trip. (partior.com)
• Liquidity and settlement
  • Redemption SLA adherence ≥99.9% within policy; atomic DvP/PvP success rate ≥99.95% in pilot windows; automated haircuts and over‑collateralisation alarms operating with documented thresholds (aligned to Basel Group 1b evidence). (bis.org)
• Compliance
  • Travel Rule delivery and ingestion “match rate” ≥98% across counterparties in scope; sanctions/address screening coverage 100% for known counterpart providers listed in counterparty registries; quarterly confidential‑data protection audits for Travel Rule payloads (per HKMA guidance). (hkma.gov.hk)

Practical examples (fresh, implementable patterns)

A) HKD stablecoin launch aligned to the 2026 HKMA landscape

• Reserves: 70% overnight cash/≤3‑month deposits; 30% short‑dated sovereigns; trustee‑segregated and bankruptcy‑remote with monthly market‑value reconciliation and over‑collateralisation buffer. HKMA permits tokenised representations of eligible assets, enabling tokenised MMF exposure if liquidity tests pass. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Redemption: ISO 20022 pacs.009 trigger to burn on‑chain and credit via HKD RTGS; publish T+0 redemption windows for corporates; disclose par‑at‑redemption policy.
• AML: Travel Rule orchestration service integrated with address‑screening and counterparty registry; due diligence documented per HKMA AML guideline; privacy controls (payload encryption, access‑logging) evidenced. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Interop: EnsembleTX for domestic tokenised deposit settlement and Partior for cross‑border USD legs in pilot; future hook to mBridge corridors as they open. (hkma.gov.hk)

B) Singapore SCS “badge” for a USD/SGD pair

• Configure par‑value redemption ≤5 business days and monthly reserve attestations; select a custodian with ≥A‑ rating and SG branch; restrict initial issuance to “in‑Singapore” per MAS expectations. Publish a machine‑readable transparency page with reserve composition and last attestation hash. (straitstimes.com)
• Connect to Partior for USD/SGD PVP and to a Swift connector pilot for ISO 20022 continuity; enforce role‑based transfers for institutional wallets; EIP‑1271 verification for corporate treasury signers. (partior.com)

C) Japan trust‑type issuance on Progmat with multi‑chain distribution

• Issuance: Trust‑type coin with bankruptcy‑remote structure; initial distribution to corporate wallets; multi‑chain (Ethereum/Polygon/Cosmos) with allowlists; reconcile public‑chain transfer‑layer KYC nuances with institutional AML by enforcing policy at mint/redeem and via off‑chain onboarding. (prnewswire.com)
• Timeline: Align pilot to megabank joint‑issuance plans targeting practical use by March 2026; pre‑plan corridors for corporate settlement and supply‑chain finance. (finance.yahoo.com)

Emerging best practices we’re baking in (Jan 2026 onward)

• “Interoperability first” procurement: choose rails where live transactions already happened (Partior, EnsembleTX pilots) and keep options open for mBridge corridors. Avoid one‑way bridges; favour atomic settlement libraries with explicit liveness/timeout logic. (partior.com)
• Group 1b dossier as a deliverable: your tech workstream should output a Basel‑ready evidence pack—stabilisation mechanism, redemption tests under stress, supervision/oversight mappings—so Capital Management can lock in economics pre‑launch. (bis.org)
• Tokenised reserves with guardrails: where permitted (HKMA), hold tokenised representations of HQLA to improve transparency and intraday liquidity—but only with proof‑quality criteria and exit paths back to conventional custody. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Privacy‑preserving compliance: implement Travel Rule providers with encryption and counterparty discovery, and evaluate ZK‑assisted selective disclosure for attributes (e.g., “regulated FI wallet”)—consistent with HKMA’s focus on data confidentiality and due diligence on solution providers. (hkma.gov.hk)

How we engage (and where we slot into your program plan)

• Architecture and build: Our custom blockchain development services and web3 development services implement the permissioned core, public‑chain distribution, and interop connectors you need.
• Controls and audit: Our security audit services include reserve‑attestation pipelines, key‑management hardening, Travel Rule tech due‑diligence packages, and policy‑as‑code.
• Integration: With blockchain integration, we deliver ISO 20022 adapters, RTGS hooks, Partior endpoints, and Swift connector pilots.
• Smart contracts and tokenisation: We implement policy‑aware tokens via smart contract development and design regulated reserve constructs via asset tokenization.
• Cross‑chain: Our cross‑chain solutions development covers multi‑chain issuance, allowlists, and atomic DvP/PvP libraries.

Proof from the market (independent signals you can take to your ExCo)

• mBridge is at MVP with an expanded central‑bank cohort and eyes on practical corridors. (bis.org)
• EnsembleTX will run real‑value tokenised deposit settlement through 2026 with HKD RTGS first—this is not a paper pilot. (hkma.gov.hk)
• Partior handled live euro cross‑border payments between Deutsche Bank and DBS; Deutsche is onboard as settlement bank and investor. (partior.com)
• Basel’s final stablecoin amendments are locked for 2026 implementation—your capital team needs your technical dossier, not slogans. (bis.org)

One last step—the internal narrative to win procurement

• Replace “we’ll be interoperable” with “we will execute a Partior+EnsembleTX+Swift connector plan in three phases, with cutover criteria and rollback.”
• Replace “we’ll be compliant” with “we meet HK$25M capital, HQLA‑only reserves, trust segregation, Travel Rule tech with counterparty DD, MAS SCS redemption and monthly attestations.”
• Replace “we’ll go live” with “we will earn Group 1b eligibility by documenting stabilisation, redemption and supervision controls—delivered as an evidence pack to Risk and Capital Management.”

Highly specific CTA for you If you are the CIO, Head of Payments/Treasury, or Chief Compliance of a Hong Kong/Singapore/Japan‑incorporated bank targeting a stablecoin launch before the Basel and HKMA dates hit in 2026, book a 45‑minute architecture and controls review with 7Block Labs. We will return, within 10 business days, a jurisdiction‑mapped blueprint covering: HKMA reserves/trust design and Travel Rule stack; MAS SCS redemption/attestation pipeline; JP trust‑type issuance via Progmat; and an interop plan across EnsembleTX/Partior/Swift—plus a Basel Group 1b evidence checklist your Capital team can use immediately. Then, if you like the plan, we’ll move straight into a build under a fixed‑outcome work package using our blockchain development services and blockchain integration.

Sources

• HKMA Stablecoin regime and guidelines (capital, reserves, AML/Travel Rule, tokenised reserves permitted; EnsembleTX pilot). (hkma.gov.hk)
• MAS SCS framework (redemption ≤5 business days, base capital, monthly attestations, custodian rules, SG‑only issuance at start). (straitstimes.com)
• Japan trust/bank issuance; Progmat multi‑chain; megabank joint issuance plans and 2026 timeline. (prnewswire.com)
• Interoperability rails: mBridge MVP; Partior live DB/DBS; Swift CBDC connector progress. (bis.org)
• Basel cryptoasset standard—Group 1b stablecoin amendments and 1 Jan 2026 implementation date. (bis.org)

Related 7Block Labs services and solutions

• custom blockchain development services
• web3 development services
• security audit services
• blockchain integration
• cross-chain solutions development
• smart contract development
• asset tokenization