港元稳定币 HKDAP 完成首轮公测，合规稳定币能否在美元主导的赛道中另辟蹊径？
- 核心观点：香港首批持牌稳定币发行人碇点金融科技已完成港元稳定币HKDAP在以太坊主网的交易测试，标志香港稳定币监管进入实施阶段。HKDAP定位于机构级应用，侧重跨境结算与RWA交易，与美元稳定币形成差异化发展路径。
- 关键要素：
- 碇点金融由渣打香港、香港电讯及Animoca Brands合资成立，于2025年4月获香港金管局首批稳定币发行人牌照（共2张），计划第二季度起分阶段发行HKDAP。
- 测试由OSL集团和PantherTrade作为授权分销商参与，验证了从发行商到机构用户再到个人用户的完整兑换、转账及赎回流通链路。
- HKDAP采用“B2B2C”发行模式，即面向授权分销商分销后由后者向公众开放，重点场景为跨境结算与支付及现实世界资产（RWA）链上结算。
- 另一获牌方汇丰银行计划下半年推出港元稳定币，初期聚焦个人对个人（P2P）付款、个人对商户（P2M）支付及代币化投资，偏向消费与银行场景。
- 港元稳定币与美元稳定币定位差异明显：后者源于链上金融避险与流动性需求，前者则更审慎地作为“监管先行”的金融基础设施，主攻RWA交易与合规结算媒介。
- 港元稳定币面临挑战：安全性高度依赖发行方合规运营与储备托管，未来若进入国际贸易结算等大型场景，需解决不同稳定币间流动性互通、清算协调及市场接受度问题。
Original Author: Shirley Li, Researcher at Web3Caff Research
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Compliance Notice: The following content is solely an objective analysis of the formation characteristics and development status of the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP. It does not constitute any proposal or offer. Please be aware that the issuance and investment in Tokens are subject to varying degrees of stringent regulatory requirements and restrictions in different countries and regions. In particular, issuing Tokens in mainland China may constitute "illegal issuance of securities," and providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, such as order matching, is also considered "illegal financial activity" (Readers from mainland China are strongly advised to read "Compilation and Key Points of Laws and Regulations Related to Blockchain and Virtual Currencies in Mainland China"). Therefore, please do not use this information for decision-making, strictly abide by the laws and regulations of your country or region, and refrain from participating in 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 Technologies 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 processes including conversion between fiat HKD and HKDAP, on-chain transfers, and redemptions.
Anchorpoint Financial Technologies 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, Hong Kong's "Stablecoin Ordinance" officially came into effect, providing a relatively clear regulatory framework for the issuance and operation of stablecoins (Further reading: "Hong Kong Passes the Stablecoin Ordinance Bill: What Impetus Will It Provide for Global Stablecoin Compliance and the RMB Internationalization Strategy?"). In April of 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 only Anchorpoint Financial Technologies Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) were granted licenses. This licensing action is considered to have completed the regulatory closed loop of "legislation – review – licensing," advancing stablecoin regulation into the implementation and business preparation phase. [1]
Source: HSBC and Standard Chartered Subsidiaries Licensed, First to Launch HKD Stablecoins
Among them, Anchorpoint Financial plans to launch its HKD-pegged stablecoin "HKDAP" in stages starting from the second quarter of this year, adopting a "B2B2C" issuance model. This means distributing to designated authorized distributors, who then make it available to the public. In the test mentioned at the beginning of this article, OSL Group and PantherTrade acted as authorized distributors for HKDAP, verifying 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 and integrate it into its PayMe platform and HSBC Hong Kong mobile financial application.
From the perspective of pilot directions, the focus of the two institutions differs slightly. HSBC plans to initially introduce services such as Person-to-Person (P2P) payments, Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments, and tokenized investments. In other words, HSBC will focus more on scenarios related to general consumption and banking services. Meanwhile, Anchorpoint Financial's focus will include cross-border settlement and payment solutions, as well as on-chain settlement and distribution for RWA (Real World Assets), primarily targeting institutional-grade application scenarios.
From a macro perspective, although both belong to the stablecoin system, there are clear differences in development paths and potential positioning between Hong Kong dollar stablecoins and the dominant US dollar stablecoins in the current market. The underlying reason lies in the different market environments and core needs from which they arose.
In the early stages of the Web3 industry, the core function of US dollar stablecoins was to provide a safe haven for highly volatile assets and serve as a medium for on-chain transactions. Subsequently, with the development of markets like decentralized finance and on-chain derivatives, US dollar stablecoins further became the foundational liquidity asset within the entire on-chain financial system. This highly financialized and globalized liquidity structure also makes the regulatory aspects of the US dollar stablecoin system more complex.
In contrast, Hong Kong's current positioning for HKD stablecoins appears significantly more cautious, leaning more 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 potential future direction of HKD stablecoins may not be limited to pilot areas like RWA transactions and merchant settlements, but could further extend to more challenging fields such as international trade settlement and cross-border payments.
However, unlike fiat currency systems backed by government guarantees, HKD stablecoins are essentially a stablecoin system pegged to the fiat Hong Kong dollar issued by licensed companies. Therefore, their security is highly dependent on the compliant operations of the issuer and the actual custody of reserve assets.
If each licensed issuer only launches payment, settlement, and RWA services around its own business, this relatively localized small financial closed loop will be more controllable and feasible in the initial stages. However, if HKD stablecoins 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 will gradually surface.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, there are positioning differences between HKD stablecoins and USD stablecoins. Although USD stablecoins face complex regulatory issues, they have consequently accumulated deeper liquidity and a wider range of use cases. In contrast, HKD stablecoins are still in the stage of exploring practical application scenarios. In other words, whether the HKD stablecoin system, including HKDAP, can truly succeed ultimately depends on its ability to form a sufficiently strong network effect and generate enough realistic payment demand. Given the significant first-mover advantage established by USD stablecoins, whether Hong Kong's model can carve out a new path remains to be seen over time.
Key Structure Diagram:
References
[2] HSBC and Standard Chartered Subsidiaries Licensed, First to Launch HKD Stablecoins
[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
Disclaimer
This report is prepared by Web3Caff Research. The information contained herein is for reference purposes only and does not constitute any forecast, investment advice, proposal, or offer. Investors should not rely on such information to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies, or adopt any investment strategy. The terminology and views expressed in this report are intended to help understand industry trends and promote the responsible development of the Web3 and blockchain industries. They should not be interpreted as definitive legal opinions or the views of Web3Caff Research. The views expressed in this report reflect the author's personal opinions as of the date stated, are independent of Web3Caff Research's position, and may change upon subsequent developments. The information and opinions contained in this report are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed reliable by Web3Caff Research, but may not cover all data, and their accuracy is not guaranteed. Therefore, Web3Caff Research makes no guarantee, express or implied, regarding their accuracy or reliability and accepts no liability for any errors or omissions arising in any other way (including liability for negligence towards any person). This report may contain "forward-looking" information, which may include forecasts and projections. No guarantee is made regarding any forecasts. Whether to rely on the information contained in this report is entirely at the reader's own discretion. This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a proposal, or an offer to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies, or adopt any investment strategy. Please strictly adhere to the relevant laws and regulations of your country or region.
