Standard Chartered’s Anchorpoint unveiled the beta phase of its HKDAP stablecoin issuance with licensed Hong Kong digital asset exchanges HashKey and OSL. It follows the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) awarding the first two stablecoin issuer licenses in April to Anchorpoint and HSBC and marks the first issuance of a Hong Kong regulated stablecoin.
Anchorpoint has a B2B2C distribution model, meaning its distributors will deal directly with stablecoin users. During the current beta phase, only institutions, corporate users and professional investors will have access to the stablecoin, with retail adoption potentially enabled by year’s end. HKMA rules require that all stablecoin holders be identified, unless an issuer can demonstrate to the regulator’s satisfaction that alternative risk mitigating measures are effective. That is a higher compliance requirement than most other jurisdictions. The initial institutional focus should make this compliance step easier.
While Anchorpoint is a Standard Chartered subsidiary, its two joint venture partners are web3 firm Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecom, who can support significant retail distribution. Animoca Brands also has a digital identity solution, the Moca Network, which may help with compliance on the retail front. Initial target use cases for HKDAP (HKD At Par) include cross border payments and tokenized securities settlement.
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