Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong became the first bank to distribute HKDAP on Aug. 24, opening Hong Kong's first live regulated local-currency stablecoin to eligible institutional clients and partners through a bank channel.

HKDAP, short for "HKD At Par," is issued by Anchorpoint Financial under licence FRS01 from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Standard Chartered is Anchorpoint's largest shareholder and established the company together with HKT and Animoca Brands. With the move, Standard Chartered becomes the first bank to distribute a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin — one of the first significant non-dollar stablecoins. That matters in a market where stablecoin circulation is overwhelmingly dollar-denominated, led by Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, with tokens pegged to other currencies remaining a small slice of the total. The Hong Kong dollar itself has been pegged to the US dollar since 1983 under the HKMA's linked exchange rate system, trading within a band of HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar, so a HKD-denominated token still carries a fixed relationship to the dollar even as a non-dollar instrument.

Standard Chartered becomes the first bank to distribute a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, one of the first significant non dollar stablecoins "We've talked about the fact that stablecoins are eating the world, but we are yet to see much popularity of stablecoins backed by anything… pic.twitter.com/YgxNVAfPYy — The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) August 24, 2026

Hong Kong granted two stablecoin issuer licences in April — one to Anchorpoint and one to HSBC. That distinction is important: the regulator licensed two issuers, but HSBC had not publicly launched its stablecoin when Standard Chartered announced its distribution service.

A bank distribution channel for HKDAP

Standard Chartered joins HashKey Exchange and OSL as an authorized HKDAP distributor. HashKey and OSL began offering beta access earlier in August, before Standard Chartered became the first conventional bank to join the distribution network. For eligible institutions, a bank channel means accessing HKDAP through an existing regulated banking relationship rather than through a crypto-native venue.

Eligible clients can convert Hong Kong dollars into HKDAP through authorized distributors and redeem the tokens for fiat currency. During the current phase, access remains limited to institutions, corporate customers and professional investors.

As previously reported, Anchorpoint launched HKDAP through a phased institutional rollout, and HashKey subsequently completed an initial minting and redemption transaction for approved clients.

HKDAP operates on Ethereum and is intended to maintain a value of HK$1 per token. Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect on Aug. 1, 2025, requires licensed issuers to maintain adequate reserves, segregate those assets and process redemptions at par.

Anchorpoint's published figures showed 522,000 HKDAP in circulation as of Aug. 19 — a limited supply that reflects the project's controlled beta status rather than broad consumer adoption.

Tokenized fund settlement targeted for Q4

Standard Chartered plans to introduce subscription and settlement services for tokenized money market funds during the fourth quarter, working with international and Hong Kong asset managers.

A stablecoin can provide the cash side of a tokenized fund transaction on the same blockchain infrastructure used to record the fund units, reducing the timing gap between transferring an investment and completing its payment.

The bank said the service could support faster settlement, but it has not named participating managers or disclosed expected transaction volumes.

The project builds on Standard Chartered's existing tokenization work. The bank already provides infrastructure for China Asset Management Hong Kong's tokenized money market fund and previously tested tokenized deposit settlement through the HKMA's Project Ensemble, an industry sandbox that brings banks and asset managers together to test settling tokenized assets with tokenized forms of money.

Standard Chartered will also test HKDAP for transfers between companies within its group. Further proposed applications include cross-border payments, treasury management and transfers outside conventional banking hours. Those uses remain pilots or planned services, and the bank has not announced a commercial launch date beyond the Q4 target for tokenized fund subscriptions and settlement.

Hong Kong's two licensed stablecoin issuers

The HKMA awarded its first licences to Anchorpoint and HSBC on April 10 after receiving 36 applications, and the regulator has said it will remain selective when considering further approvals. Hong Kong's dedicated licensing regime sits within a broader global shift toward formal stablecoin oversight: the European Union's MiCA framework has governed stablecoin issuance since 2024, and the United States enacted the GENIUS Act in July 2025, setting federal reserve and disclosure standards for payment stablecoins.

Anchorpoint adopted a business-to-business-to-consumer distribution model: rather than serving every holder directly, it works with regulated banks, exchanges and commercial partners that provide access and fiat conversion. In related coverage, HashKey became an authorized distributor for institutional HKDAP access, and OSL also provides distribution, liquidity and conversion services during the beta period.

The HKMA has warned investors about unrelated tokens using the HKDAP name. Its April warning said tokens carrying HKDAP or HSBC tickers were circulating without connections to the licensed issuers, so users must verify contract addresses and access the stablecoin only through Anchorpoint's authorized channels.

Independent review raises contract questions

Security researcher Yajin Zhou published an independent review of HKDAP's Ethereum contract after its beta launch. The analysis questioned elements of its custom approval, upgrade and access-control architecture and claimed some compliance controls did not operate as expected.

The findings were not an HKMA enforcement determination or a confirmed exploit, and no theft or loss was identified in the review. Anchorpoint had not published a detailed public response to the findings at the time of writing.

The next measurable developments will be named asset-manager partnerships, actual fund settlement transactions and updated reserve disclosures. Anchorpoint has also said wider access, including a possible retail expansion, may arrive by the end of 2026, subject to market conditions and regulatory requirements.