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Standard Chartered Becomes First Bank to Distribute Hong Kong Stablecoin

HKDAP's rollout starts with institutional clients and settlement under Hong Kong's new stablecoin framework from the HKMA. HSBC is meanwhile working on its own issuance through PayMe.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
Standard Chartered Becomes First Bank to Distribute Hong Kong Stablecoin

Key Takeaways

  • Standard Chartered is the first bank to start distributing a regulated Hong Kong stablecoin.
  • The bank is starting with HKDAP from Anchorpoint Financial for selected institutional clients and partners.
  • Hong Kong has had a licensing system for fiat-linked stablecoins since August 1, 2025, while HSBC is also preparing its own stablecoin.

Standard Chartered is the first bank to distribute one of Hong Kong's two regulated stablecoins. The London-based bank wants to first make the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP from Anchorpoint Financial available to selected institutional clients and partners. Several commercial uses are also planned for the coming month, including fund subscriptions, settlement with asset managers, internal settlement within the bank's global network, and cross-border payments.

First Bank in Hong Kong

The move stands out because Hong Kong only introduced a clear framework for stablecoins this year. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced the Stablecoins Ordinance on August 1, 2025, creating a licensing system for fiat-linked stablecoins. Anchorpoint Financial was among the first parties to receive an issuer license in April 2026.

According to the earlier rollout, HKDAP already started in a limited phase on August 12. That first phase focuses on institutional payments and settlement, after which more access channels and cross-border uses will follow. That fits the way many regulated stablecoins are rolled out in an early stage: first with professional parties, then more broadly. Even in the earlier launch of HKDAP, the focus was already on institutional payments and settlement, with limited distribution through approved parties.

What This Means for the Market

For crypto readers in Europe, this shows how quickly stablecoins are shifting from a purely crypto product to a payment and settlement tool inside traditional banking. That could matter for firms working with international payments, treasury structures, or tokenized financial products. At the same time, access remains limited for now, because HKDAP is still mainly intended for institutional clients and partners.

More Hong Kong Competition

Standard Chartered is not alone. HSBC, the other first license holder in Hong Kong, is preparing its own stablecoin for the second half of 2026. The bank could possibly distribute it through PayMe, a payment app with 3.3 million users. Crypto exchange operators and other market players are also continuing to build stablecoin services in Hong Kong, which is increasing competition in this young market even more.

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