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. The move gives asset managers and multinational companies a way to explore blockchain settlement through a bank they already use, rather than relying only on crypto exchanges.

HKDAP and its issuer

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 established in February 2025 by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) (LSE: STAN), HKT, and Animoca Brands, with Standard Chartered as the largest shareholder. The bank's trustee also holds the reserve assets backing the token, placing the institution at the center of the project.

Before Monday's announcement, HKDAP was available only through crypto exchanges such as HashKey and OSL. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) is now the first bank to distribute the stablecoin, which could make access more familiar for institutional clients that prefer to keep settlement and custody relationships within traditional banking channels.

The bank plans to use HKDAP to settle tokenized money market funds beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026, along with internal bank transfers and cross-border payments.

Mary Huen, 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 CEO Dominic Maffei called the bank's involvement a "milestone" that provides a "trusted channel" for the token to grow.

What the stablecoin will be used for

HKDAP's primary aim is to make large business transactions faster and more efficient. Today, a fund unit can move instantly on a blockchain, but the corresponding cash payment still relies on slower legacy banking systems. HKDAP is designed to serve as digital cash moving at the same speed, allowing both sides of a trade to settle together.

The bank also intends to test HKDAP for moving money between parts of its own global network, which could speed up cross-border cash and liquidity management, particularly outside normal banking hours. International payments for corporate clients are 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 retail access could be permitted as early as the end of 2026.

Regulatory context and HSBC's plans

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted its first two stablecoin issuer licenses in April 2026, to Anchorpoint (FRS01) and HSBC (FRS02). HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) has not yet launched its own Hong Kong dollar stablecoin but plans to do so in the second half of 2026. It could integrate the token with its PayMe app, which has 3.3 million users, potentially reaching a much larger retail audience.

Standard Chartered and Anchorpoint are focusing on corporate and institutional users first, while HSBC could reach everyday consumers through its existing products.