Beta Access Opens for Hong Kong's First Regulated Dollar Stablecoin Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint Financial has started a limited rollout of HKDAP, its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin
Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint Financial has started a limited rollout of HKDAP, its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin, four months after securing one of the city's first two issuer licences.HKDAP stands for "HKD At Par", and it is pegged one-to-one to the Hong Kong dollar and operates on public blockchain infrastructure.
The licensed entities are Anchorpoint Financial Limited, a joint venture of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, HKT Limited and Animoca Brands Limited, and HSBC.The regulator said the licences were awarded to Anchorpoint and HSBC as they most successfully "demonstrated their capabilities to properly manage risks with credible use cases and development plans, in addition to meeting the relevant licensing requirements under the ordinance."
@HashKeyExchange and OSL Group are the authorized distributors, and HashKey has already completed the first minting and redemption transaction converting HKDAP into fiat.In the current phase, authorised distributors are allowed to offer conversion between HKDAP and fiat currency for institutions, corporate users and professional investors.
OSL and Anchorpoint will work together on several possible uses, including tokenised funds, trade finance and cross-border payments, and the companies expect to complete a number of use cases during the beta phase to show how HKDAP can be used for settlement and the movement of value in real-world business activities.
HKDAP is initially available on the Ethereum mainnet.Rather than promoting the token directly to consumers, Anchorpoint will use a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) approach and collaborate with reputable companies in distributing the token.Retail use is expected "as early as end-2026", subject to market conditions, Anchorpoint said.
HSBC, the other initial licensee, is preparing its stablecoin for the second half of 2026 and could distribute it through PayMe, which has 3.3 million users.Taken together, these moves suggest Hong Kong's stablecoin market is shaping up as a two-track competition: bank-led issuers like Anchorpoint and HSBC building regulated tokens from the ground up, and exchange groups buying their way into distribution and infrastructure.
SourcesCoinDesk: Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint launches Hong Kong dollar stablecoinHong Kong Monetary Authority: Stablecoin issuer licences announcementStandard Chartered: Anchorpoint granted stablecoin issuer licence press release
