HKDAP Stablecoin Gets First Banking Distributor as Standard Chartered Takes Lead
In a landmark move, Standard Chartered Hong Kong secures position as inaugural banking distributor for HKDAP stablecoin, announcing tokenized money market fund settlement initiatives set for Q4 launch.
In a pioneering development, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), also known as SCBHK, has secured authorization as the inaugural banking institution to distribute HKDAP, a stablecoin backed by Hong Kong dollars and regulated under local law, which is issued by Anchorpoint Financial.
The banking institution announced on Monday that it is actively working with qualified institutional clients and business partners to explore various applications, including settlements for tokenized funds, treasury management operations, and cross-border payment solutions as part of a gradual deployment strategy.
With Standard Chartered's involvement, HKDAP distribution now extends into traditional banking channels, marking this development almost two weeks following Anchorpoint's launch of beta access via HashKey Group and OSL. According to SCBHK, the bank anticipates rolling out additional commercial use cases throughout the upcoming months.
The financial institution has outlined plans to launch HKDAP-enabled subscription and settlement services for tokenized money market funds in collaboration with both international and domestic asset management firms during the fourth quarter. Additionally, the bank is preparing to deploy the stablecoin for intragroup settlement purposes across its broader banking infrastructure in the immediate future.
Since Anchorpoint received its stablecoin issuer licence, we have seen strong interest from clients exploring how HKDAP can support their business needs.
SCBHK CEO Mary Huen
According to her statement, SCBHK's role as a distributor has the potential to facilitate payment processing, settlement operations, and treasury management functions, while simultaneously offering qualified clients entry to these services via a regulated banking infrastructure.
HKDAP expands distribution
Anchorpoint represents a collaborative venture formed by Standard Chartered's Hong Kong banking division, HKT telecommunications corporation, and Animoca Brands, a company focused on Web3 investments. As the controlling shareholder in Anchorpoint, Standard Chartered maintains the licensed issuing entity as one of its subsidiary operations.
The consortium revealed their intentions to launch an HKD-backed stablecoin in February 2025, following their participation in the stablecoin issuer sandbox program run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) starting in July 2024. The formal establishment of Anchorpoint Financial occurred in August 2025, at which point they commenced the process of obtaining an issuer license.
The regulatory framework known as Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance became operational on Aug. 1, 2025. Prior to the regulation taking effect, the HKMA published supervisory guidelines for the industry and launched a publicly accessible registry documenting licensed issuers.
The HKMA issued its inaugural stablecoin issuer licenses to both Anchorpoint and the Hong Kong banking division of HSBC on April 10. These authorizations were granted in accordance with regulatory requirements mandating that licensed issuers satisfy established criteria encompassing reserve asset backing, redemption processes, corporate governance frameworks, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance measures.