Hong Kong stablecoin regulatory rollout

Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture involving Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT, and Animoca Brands, is launching HKD At Par (HKDAP), a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar. The project follows the receipt of one of the first two stablecoin-issuer licences from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

In late July 2026, preparations were underway for a regulated launch targeting institutional payments and tokenised-asset settlement, following successful testing on the Ethereum mainnet. Early distribution was expected through exchanges such as OSL and HashKey Exchange.

By mid-August 2026, Anchorpoint Financial commenced the first phase of the rollout. The stablecoin is currently available with limited access to professional investors and institutional distributors. CEO Dominic Maffei noted that the immediate priority is developing commercial applications for regulated tokenized money, with the company aiming for broader retail adoption by the end of 2026.

During the beta phase, authorized distributors including HashKey Exchange and OSL Group enabled access to the HKDAP on the Ethereum mainnet. HashKey has already completed its first minting and redemption transactions to facilitate fiat on-and-off ramping for eligible clients. In a practical application test, HashKey and YF Life Insurance International Limited successfully completed a live transaction using real funds, exploring how the stablecoin could reduce insurance premium settlement times from days to near real-time. While the project aims to facilitate cross-border payments and the settlement of tokenized real-world assets, experts note that institutions must still develop robust on-chain compliance and custody capabilities to compete with established US dollar-pegged tokens.