Standard Chartered advances Anchorpoint’s Hong Kong dollar stablecoin rollout
- Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) has become the first bank to distribute HKDAP, Anchorpoint’s regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin.
- It plans tokenized money market fund settlement in Q4, plus intragroup and cross-border payment uses.
- The token is still small, with 522,000 in circulation as of August 19.
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) said on Monday that it has become the first bank authorized to distribute HKDAP, the city’s first regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin.
Asset managers and multinational companies that want blockchain settlement can now explore that option without leaving the banks they already use.
What banks can issue HKDAP?
HKDAP, short for “HKD At Par,” is issued by Anchorpoint Financial and redeems one-for-one for Hong Kong dollars.
Anchorpoint is a joint venture by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) (LSE: STAN), HKT, and Animoca Brands that was set up in February 2025. Standard Chartered is the biggest shareholder. The bank’s trustee also holds the reserve assets that back the token, making its role very central to the whole project.
HKDAP was previously only available through crypto exchanges like HashKey and OSL, but now Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) has announced that it will be the first bank to distribute HKDAP.
The bank plans to use HKDAP for settling tokenized money market funds starting in the fourth quarter of 2026, as well as for internal bank transfers and cross-border payments.
Mary Huen, the CEO for Hong Kong at Standard Chartered, said the bank is “pleased to be the first bank distributor to provide eligible clients with secure access” to the stablecoin.
Anchorpoint’s CEO, Dominic Maffei, added that the bank’s involvement is a “milestone” that provides a “trusted channel” for the token to grow.
What will the HKDAP stablecoin be used for?
HKDAP’s main goal is to make big business transactions faster and more efficient. Currently, a fund unit can move instantly on a blockchain, but the cash payment still has to go through slow, old banking systems. HKDAP is meant to be the digital cash that moves at the same speed, allowing both sides of a trade to settle together.
The bank also wants to test HKDAP for moving money between different parts of its own global network, which could make it much faster to manage cash and liquidity across borders, especially outside of normal banking hours. International payment for corporate clients is another use case on the bank’s roadmap.
The stablecoin runs on the Ethereum mainnet, and access is currently limited to selected institutional and corporate users. Anchorpoint’s transparency data dated August 19 recorded 522,000 tokens in circulation and 658,160 in transaction volume during Beta Access. The company has said it could allow retail access as early as the end of 2026.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) gave out its first two issuer licenses to Anchorpoint (FRS01) and HSBC (FRS02) in April 2026.
HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) has not launched its own Hong Kong dollar stablecoin yet, but it plans to in the second half of 2026. It could integrate it with its popular PayMe app, which has 3.3 million users, potentially giving it a much bigger retail audience.
Standard Chartered and Anchorpoint are focusing on corporate and institutional users first, while HSBC seems to be betting on reaching everyday consumers through its existing products.
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FAQs
What is HKDAP?
HKDAP, or "HKD At Par," is the first regulated Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin, issued by Anchorpoint Financial Limited and redeemable one-for-one for Hong Kong dollars. It received license FRS01 from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April 2026 under the Stablecoins Ordinance.
What is Standard Chartered's relationship with Anchorpoint?
Anchorpoint is a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) and a joint venture set up in February 2025 with HKT and Animoca Brands, and the bank is its largest shareholder. Standard Chartered Trustee also holds the reserve assets backing HKDAP.
How will Standard Chartered use HKDAP first?
The bank plans to launch tokenized money market fund subscriptions and settlements with international and local asset managers in the fourth quarter, and to test intragroup treasury transfers across its own network, with cross-border payments as a further use case.
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Hannah Collymore
Hannah is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of blog writing and event reporting experience in the crypto space. At Cryptopolitan, Hannah contributes to the news page, reporting and analyzing the latest developments in DeFi, RWA, crypto regulation, AI and frontier tech industries. She graduated from Arcadia university with a degree in Business Administration.
