Standard Chartered has become the first bank to distribute HKDAP, one of Hong Kong's two regulated stablecoins issued by Anchorpoint Financial, according to an announcement by the bank. The lender will offer the stablecoin to eligible institutional clients and partners, with plans to expand into tokenized money market fund subscription and settlement services in Q4.
Hong Kong has licensed two stablecoin issuers under its regulatory framework: Anchorpoint Financial, which issues HKDAP, and another operator. Standard Chartered's entry as a distributor differs from OSL and HashKey, which operate as digital asset exchanges. The bank is testing HKDAP for intragroup settlement and exploring cross-border payments and treasury management applications alongside the tokenized fund services.
Standard Chartered's move follows Hong Kong's push to establish itself as a stablecoin hub in Asia. The territory granted Anchorpoint a stablecoin license in 2024, and the city's regulators have approved banks participating in the stablecoin ecosystem. The bank's Q4 timeline for money market fund services places the launch within months of this announcement.
Tokenized money market funds have drawn interest from global financial institutions seeking to offer settlement efficiency and continuous trading windows to asset managers. Standard Chartered's planned services would allow subscribers to use HKDAP for both subscription and settlement, compressing transaction cycles typical of traditional fund operations.
Standard Chartered's institutional focus distinguishes this from retail stablecoin offerings. The bank is limiting distribution to eligible clients and partners, a gate-keeping approach that aligns with how licensed financial institutions have approached stablecoin distribution in other jurisdictions.
Hong Kong now has at least one bank distributing a regulated stablecoin, while the city continues to compete with Singapore and the United Arab Emirates for financial services tied to blockchain settlement. Standard Chartered's participation adds credibility to Hong Kong's stablecoin framework but does not yet indicate systemic adoption by the banking sector.
The document to watch is Standard Chartered's Q4 announcement of the tokenized money market fund service launch, which will confirm whether the timeline holds and detail which asset managers have signed on.
