Standard Chartered becomes first bank to distribute Hong Kong's HKDAP stablecoin

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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