A joint venture led by Standard Chartered has begun the institutional rollout of a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin, marking a significant step in the city’s push to establish itself as a regulated hub for digital assets.

Anchorpoint Financial said on Wednesday it had initiated the first phase of its HKDAP token launch, granting limited beta access to institutional distributors and professional investors. The stablecoin, whose name stands for “Hong Kong dollar at par,” is designed to maintain a one-to-one value with the local currency.

The company, a joint venture formed by Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT), said the initial phase will allow authorized distributors to offer conversion between HKDAP and fiat currency for institutions, corporate users and professional investors. These distributors will draw on their existing client networks to integrate the token into commercial and financial activities.

“Our immediate focus is on supporting the development of commercial applications that demonstrate the value of regulated tokenised money in real-world settings, including payments and settlement use cases,” said Dominic Maffei, Anchorpoint’s chief executive and co-founder.

Anchorpoint is adopting a business-to-business-to-consumer model to expand participation through agreements with distributors and use-case partners, with the goal of bringing regulated tokenized money into real-economy applications. The company said it is targeting broader retail adoption as early as the end of 2026, subject to market conditions.

“Operating on public blockchain infrastructure, Anchorpoint is adopting a [business-to-business-to-consumer] model to maximise ecosystem participation and growth,” the company said in a statement. “Anchorpoint has been executing its phased approach in a prudent and structured manner.”

Maffei added that the company is “encouraged by the strong interest we have seen across the market” and looks forward to working with partners to broaden adoption of HKDAP and enable new commercial applications.

Regulatory Backdrop

The launch comes after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint in April. The approvals followed the implementation of Hong Kong’s stablecoin ordinance on August 1 last year, part of a broader effort to position the city as a global digital asset hub.

The regulatory timeline has been shaped by developments in mainland China. Beijing in February banned the onshore tokenization of real-world assets and tightened related offshore activities, prompting Hong Kong’s de facto central bank to adopt a cautious, phased approach to stablecoin oversight.

HSBC said in April that it aimed to launch its own Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin in the second half of the year, setting up a competitive landscape in the city’s nascent regulated stablecoin market.

Market Context

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies engineered to maintain a constant value, typically pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. Hong Kong’s regulatory framework is among the most developed in Asia for fiat-backed stablecoins, positioning the city to compete with jurisdictions like Singapore and the European Union, which have also introduced stablecoin-specific rules.

The phased rollout strategy reflects both regulatory prudence and commercial pragmatism. By starting with institutional distributors and professional investors, Anchorpoint can test integration with existing financial infrastructure before expanding to retail users — a sequence that aligns with the HKMA’s emphasis on controlled, supervised growth in the digital asset sector.

For Standard Chartered, the stablecoin initiative represents an expansion of its digital asset strategy in Asia. The bank has been actively exploring tokenization and blockchain-based settlement solutions, viewing regulated stablecoins as a bridge between traditional finance and emerging digital asset markets.

The success of HKDAP will depend on whether Anchorpoint can build sufficient commercial use cases — particularly in payments and settlement — to drive adoption beyond speculative interest. The company’s emphasis on real-world applications suggests a focus on utility rather than trading volume, a positioning that may appeal to corporate treasuries and institutional clients seeking efficient settlement mechanisms.