Standard Chartered Turns Into First Bank to Distribute HKD Stablecoin

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) (SCBHK) says it has become the first authorized bank to distribute HKDAP, a regulated Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorpoint Financial.

In a press release issued Monday, SCBHK stated that it is beginning discussions with eligible institutional clients and partners on potential use cases. These include tokenized fund settlements, treasury operations and cross-border payments, rolled out in phases.

Key takeaways

• SCBHK becomes the first licensed banking distributor for HKDAP, bringing a regulated HKD stablecoin closer to traditional banking rails.
• Anchorpoint’s HKDAP is already entering the market via beta access through HashKey Group and OSL, and SCBHK’s distribution follows soon after.
• Near-term plans include intragroup settlements across SCBHK’s banking network, with broader product applications expected later.
• In the fourth quarter, SCBHK plans to support HKDAP-based subscriptions and settlements for tokenized money market funds with asset managers.
• The launch aligns with Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect Aug. 1, 2025, and the HKMA’s licensing framework for reserve backing and AML controls.

From beta access to bank-led distribution

The move expands HKDAP availability into conventional banking nearly two weeks after Anchorpoint began beta access for the stablecoin via HashKey Group and OSL. By shifting distribution into a regulated bank channel, SCBHK is positioning itself as a bridge between institutional demand and tokenized settlement workflows.

SCBHK also indicated it expects to introduce additional commercial applications over the coming months. While the bank did not spell out a full product roadmap in the announcement, its initial focus suggests it is prioritizing settlement-grade use cases where stablecoin behavior and compliance requirements matter most.

Planned HKDAP use: funds, treasury, and payments

According to SCBHK, its distribution strategy will target concrete operational needs. For clients, the bank highlighted applications such as:

• Tokenized fund settlements, where stablecoin-based payment legs could be paired with tokenized assets.
• Treasury operations, potentially enabling more efficient movement and management of HKD-linked value.
• Cross-border payments, where stablecoin rails are often explored as a complement to traditional correspondent banking.

Beyond those categories, SCBHK provided more specific near-term and mid-term intentions. It plans to introduce HKDAP-based subscriptions and settlements for tokenized money market funds with both international and local asset managers in the fourth quarter. It also intends to use HKDAP for intragroup settlements across its banking network in the near term.

For market participants, this sequencing is notable: bank internal settlement pilots typically help institutions validate operational mechanics before rolling out external-facing products that require coordination across multiple counterparties and market infrastructure providers.

Why the regulatory channel matters for Hong Kong dollar stablecoins

Anchorpoint’s HKDAP is issued under Hong Kong’s evolving stablecoin framework. The Stablecoins Ordinance took effect on Aug. 1, 2025, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) publishing supervisory guidelines and establishing a public register of licensed issuers ahead of the implementation.

Earlier this year, on April 10, the HKMA granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses to Anchorpoint and to HSBC’s Hong Kong banking arm. Those authorizations were issued under rules designed to cover reserve backing, redemption processes, governance arrangements and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls.

Against that backdrop, SCBHK’s distributor role is significant because it formalizes access through a conventional regulated intermediary. In her comments, SCBHK CEO Mary Huen linked the bank’s interest pipeline to the issuer licensing milestone, saying that since Anchorpoint received its stablecoin issuer licence, clients have shown strong interest in how HKDAP could support business needs.

Anchorpoint’s backers and the timeline behind HKDAP

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

In February 2025, the partners announced plans for an HKD-backed stablecoin after participating in the HKMA’s stablecoin issuer sandbox starting in July 2024. Later, in August 2025, they formally established Anchorpoint Financial and moved toward obtaining an issuer licence.

SCBHK’s announcement therefore sits at the intersection of two developments: Hong Kong’s licensing regime for stablecoin issuance and the practical effort to distribute and deploy a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin through regulated banking channels. That combination is likely to influence how quickly institutional counterparties feel comfortable integrating HKDAP into settlement workflows, especially for tokenized fund products.

Related coverage from earlier reporting noted Hong Kong’s warning about fake stablecoins impersonating major brands, underscoring how licensing and regulated distribution can help reduce confusion for market participants seeking legitimate products.

For readers tracking Hong Kong’s tokenized finance trajectory, the next signals to watch are whether SCBHK’s fourth-quarter plans for money market fund subscriptions and settlements progress as described, and how quickly HKDAP expands from intragroup testing into broader client deployments across treasury and cross-border payment use cases.