HKD stablecoin HKDAP completes first public beta test: Can regulated stablecoins carve a new path in the dollar-dominated arena?
- Core Insight: Anchor Point FinTech, one of Hong Kong's first licensed stablecoin issuers, has completed transaction testing of its HKD stablecoin, HKDAP, on the Ethereum mainnet. This marks the entry of Hong Kong's stablecoin regulation into the implementation phase. HKDAP is positioned for institutional-grade applications, focusing on cross-border settlements and RWA transactions, charting a differentiated development path from USD-pegged stablecoins.
- Key Elements:
- Anchor Point FinTech, a joint venture established by Standard Chartered Hong Kong, HKT, and Animoca Brands, received one of the first two stablecoin issuer licenses from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April 2025. It plans to launch HKDAP in phases starting from the second quarter.
- The testing involved authorized distributors OSL Group and PantherTrade, validating the complete circulation cycle—from issuance and distribution to institutional and individual users—including redemption and transfer.
- HKDAP adopts a "B2B2C" issuance model, where it is distributed through authorized distributors who then make it available to the public. Key use cases include cross-border settlement and payments, as well as on-chain settlement for Real World Assets (RWA).
- Another license recipient, HSBC, plans to launch its HKD stablecoin in the second half of the year, initially focusing on peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, and tokenized investments, leaning towards consumer and banking scenarios.
- The positioning of HKD stablecoins differs significantly from USD stablecoins. The latter originate from on-chain financial hedging and liquidity needs, while the former is more prudently positioned as a "regulation-first" financial infrastructure, primarily targeting RWA transactions and compliant settlement mediums.
- Challenges for HKD stablecoins include high reliance on the issuer's compliant operations and reserve custody for security. For future adoption in large-scale scenarios like international trade settlement, issues of liquidity interoperability between different stablecoins, clearing coordination, and market acceptance need to be resolved.
Original Author: Shirley Li, Researcher at Web3Caff Research
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Compliance Reminder: The following content is solely an objective analysis of the formation characteristics and development status of the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin HKDAP, and does not constitute any proposal or offer. Please be aware that the act of issuing and participating in the investment of Tokens is subject to varying degrees of strict regulatory requirements and restrictions in different countries and regions. Specifically, issuing Tokens in mainland China is suspected of being an "illegal issuance of securities," and providing cryptocurrency trading-related services such as token transaction matching also constitutes "illegal financial activities." (Mainland Chinese readers are strongly advised to read "Compilation and Key Points of Laws and Regulations Related to Blockchain and Virtual Currencies in Mainland China"). Therefore, please refrain from making any decisions based on this information and strictly comply with the laws and regulations of your country or region, refraining from any illegal financial activities.
On May 13, OSL Group, a stablecoin payment and trading platform; PantherTrade, a virtual asset trading platform under Futu Holdings; and Anchorpoint Financial Limited, a licensed stablecoin issuer in Hong Kong, jointly completed a transaction test on the Ethereum mainnet using the Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin HKDAP as the settlement medium. This round of testing covered the processes of exchange between fiat HKD and HKDAP, on-chain transfers, and redemption.
Anchorpoint Financial Limited is a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, jointly established by Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT), and Animoca Brands in February 2025. HKDAP (Hong Kong Dollar Anchor Point) is the first compliant Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin it plans to launch.
On August 1, 2025, the Hong Kong Stablecoin Ordinance officially came into effect, providing a relatively clear regulatory framework for the issuance and operation of stablecoins (Extended Reading: "Hong Kong Passes Stablecoin Ordinance Bill: What Impetus Will It Provide for Global Stablecoin Compliance and the RMB Internationalization Strategy?"). In April this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) officially granted the first batch of 2 stablecoin issuer licenses under this ordinance. It is reported that a total of 36 institutions submitted applications in the first batch, but ultimately only Anchorpoint Financial Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) were licensed. This licensing action is considered to have completed the regulatory loop of "legislation - review - licensing," advancing stablecoin regulation into the implementation and business preparation phase.[1]
Source: HSBC and Standard Chartered Subsidiaries Licensed, to Launch HKD Stablecoins First
Among these, Anchorpoint Financial plans to launch "HKDAP," a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong Dollar, in phases starting from the second quarter of this year, adopting a "B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer)" issuance model. This means it will distribute to designated authorized distributors, who will then make it available to the public. In the test mentioned at the beginning of this article, OSL Group and PantherTrade, as authorized distributors of HKDAP, verified the complete circulation chain from the issuer to institutional users and then to individual users.
HSBC, on the other hand, plans to launch its own Hong Kong Dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe platform and HSBC Hong Kong mobile banking application.
Looking at the direction of the pilots, the focus of the two institutions differs slightly. HSBC plans to initially launch services such as peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, and tokenized investments. In other words, HSBC will primarily target scenarios related to general consumption and banking services. Meanwhile, Anchorpoint Financial's focus areas will include cross-border settlement and payment solutions, as well as on-chain settlement and distribution of RWA (Real World Assets), primarily targeting institutional-grade application scenarios.
From a macro perspective, although both belong to the stablecoin system, there are still clear differences in the development path and potential positioning between Hong Kong Dollar stablecoins and the currently dominant US Dollar stablecoins. The underlying reason lies in the differing market environments and core needs from which they emerged.
In the early stages of the Web3 industry's development, the core role of USD stablecoins was to provide a safe-haven tool for highly volatile assets and to serve as a medium for on-chain transactions. Subsequently, with the development of markets like decentralized finance (DeFi) and on-chain derivatives, USD stablecoins further evolved into the foundational liquidity assets within the entire on-chain financial system. This highly financialized and globalized liquidity structure has also made the regulatory landscape for the USD stablecoin system more complex.
In contrast, Hong Kong's current positioning for its stablecoin is notably more cautious and leans towards a "regulation-first" financial infrastructure path. Currently, HKD stablecoins are primarily positioned as a vehicle for RWA transactions, serving as a trusted, stable, and compliant on-chain settlement medium for tokenized assets. From a longer-term perspective, the future potential direction for Hong Kong Dollar stablecoins likely extends beyond the ongoing trials in RWA trading and merchant settlement, potentially reaching into more challenging domains like international trade settlement and cross-border payments.
However, unlike fiat currency systems backed by governments, HKD stablecoins are essentially stablecoin systems issued by licensed companies and pegged to the fiat Hong Kong Dollar. Therefore, their security is highly dependent on the compliant operations of the issuer and the true custody of reserve assets.
If each licensed issuer only launches payment, settlement, and RWA services centered around their own business, this relatively localized, small-scale financial loop might be more controllable and feasible in the initial stages. However, if HKD stablecoins were to further enter international trade settlement, cross-border payments, and larger-scale on-chain financial scenarios in the future, issues such as liquidity interoperability between different HKD stablecoins, clearing coordination, and market acceptance would gradually emerge.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, there is a difference in positioning between HKD and USD stablecoins. Although USD stablecoins face complex regulatory issues, they have consequently accumulated deeper liquidity and broader use cases. In contrast, HKD stablecoins are still in the phase of exploring practical application scenarios. This means that whether the HKD stablecoin system, including HKDAP, can truly succeed ultimately depends on its ability to form sufficiently strong network effects and generate enough real payment demand. Given that USD stablecoins have established a clear first-mover advantage, whether the Hong Kong model can carve a new path remains to be tested by time.
Key Points Diagram:
References
[2] HSBC and Standard Chartered Subsidiaries Licensed, to Launch HKD Stablecoins First
[4] Hong Kong Officially Ramps Up! In-depth Analysis of the First Batch of HKD Stablecoin HKDAP
[5] 3 Licensed Firms Test Hong Kong's HKDAP Stablecoin on Ethereum
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