Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) announced on Monday that it has become the first bank authorized to distribute HKDAP, Hong Kong's first regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. The development allows asset managers and multinational companies to explore blockchain settlement without leaving their current banking relationships.
Known as “HKD At Par,” the stablecoin is issued by Anchorpoint Financial and redeems one-for-one for Hong Kong dollars. Anchorpoint was established in February 2025 as a joint venture involving Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT, and Animoca Brands, with Standard Chartered acting as the largest shareholder. Additionally, the bank’s trustee holds the reserve assets backing the token.
Previously available exclusively through cryptocurrency exchanges like HashKey and OSL, HKDAP can now be accessed directly through Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong). Mary Huen, the CEO for Hong Kong at Standard Chartered, noted that the bank is pleased to offer eligible clients secure access to the stablecoin. Dominic Maffei, CEO of Anchorpoint, described the bank's involvement as a milestone that establishes a trusted channel for the token's expansion.
Running on the Ethereum mainnet, the stablecoin is currently restricted to selected institutional and corporate users. Transparency data from Anchorpoint dated August 19 recorded 522,000 tokens in circulation and 658,160 in transaction volume during its beta access phase. Retail access could potentially be permitted by the end of 2026.
Standard Chartered plans to utilize HKDAP for settling tokenized money market funds beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026, alongside internal bank transfers and cross-border payments. The stablecoin aims to bridge the gap between instant blockchain asset movements and slower traditional banking cash payment systems, enabling simultaneous trade settlement.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued its first two stablecoin issuer licenses in April 2026 to Anchorpoint and HSBC. While HSBC has not yet launched its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, it anticipates doing so in the second half of 2026 with potential integration into its PayMe application, which serves 3.3 million users.
