Standard Chartered Becomes First Bank Distributor of Hong Kong Stablecoin

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), or SCBHK, has become the first bank authorized to distribute HKDAP, a regulated stablecoin backed by the Hong Kong dollar and issued by Anchorpoint Financial. The bank said that it is working with eligible institutional clients and partners during a phased rollout, exploring uses such as tokenized fund settlements, treasury operations and cross-border payments.

SCBHK’s involvement brings HKDAP distribution into the traditional banking sector, nearly two weeks after Anchorpoint began offering beta access through HashKey Group and OSL. The bank said additional commercial use cases are expected to be introduced over the coming months.

SCBHK plans tokenized fund and treasury use cases

Standard Chartered plans to introduce HKDAP-based subscriptions and settlement for tokenized money market funds in the fourth quarter, working with both international and local asset managers. The bank also expects to use the stablecoin for intragroup settlements across its own banking network in the near term.

“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 said in the announcement. She added that distributing HKDAP through SCBHK could support payments, settlement and treasury management while giving eligible clients access through a regulated banking channel.

Anchorpoint expands HKDAP distribution

Anchorpoint Financial is a joint venture created by Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong arm, telecommunications company HKT and Web3 investment firm Animoca Brands. Standard Chartered is the largest shareholder in Anchorpoint, while the licensed stablecoin issuer operates as a subsidiary of the bank.

The partners first announced plans for a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin in February 2025 after participating in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s stablecoin issuer sandbox from July 2024. Anchorpoint Financial was formally established in August 2025, when the group began pursuing a stablecoin issuer license.

Hong Kong builds regulated stablecoin market

Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance came into effect on Aug. 1, 2025. Ahead of the rollout, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced supervisory guidelines and launched a public register of licensed issuers. On April 10, the HKMA issued its first stablecoin issuer licenses to Anchorpoint and HSBC’s Hong Kong banking arm.

The approvals were granted under rules requiring licensed issuers to meet standards covering reserve backing, redemption, governance and Anti-Money Laundering controls.

Sources:

https://av.sc.com/hk/content/docs/hk-press-release-standard-chartered-becomes-first-bank-distributor-of-hkdap-en.pdf

https://cointelegraph.com/news/standard-chartered-hkdap-stablecoin-distribution