What Is HKDAP? Standard Chartered's Hong Kong Stablecoin Plan

Bottom line: HKDAP is a privately issued digital version of the Hong Kong dollar built for public blockchains. Each token is designed to be worth HK$1 and backed by at least HK$1 of reserve assets. Standard Chartered is not the issuer, but it is the largest shareholder of issuer Anchorpoint and now the first bank authorised to distribute HKDAP. The immediate plan is to use it for tokenised fund settlement, company treasury transfers and cross-border payments. The longer-term goal is much larger: make the Hong Kong dollar usable in an always-on financial system that is increasingly moving on-chain.

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) announced on August 24 that it had become an authorised distributor of HKDAP. This means eligible institutional clients will be able to access the stablecoin through a bank they already use, instead of dealing directly with its issuer or a crypto exchange.

That distribution deal is one step in a longer project. Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands began exploring tokenised money in 2023, joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s stablecoin sandbox in 2024 and formed Anchorpoint in 2025. In April 2026, the HKMA granted Anchorpoint one of Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licences. HKDAP entered a limited beta on August 12.

What is HKDAP?

HKDAP stands for Hong Kong Dollar At Par. It is issued by Anchorpoint Financial Limited and initially runs on Ethereum. Anchorpoint says it plans to support more blockchains in the future.

HKDAP is not Bitcoin, an investment token or an algorithmic stablecoin. It is also not the e-HKD, and the HKMA does not issue it. Anchorpoint is a private company licensed and supervised by the HKMA.

The structure is straightforward:

1. An authorised distributor sends Hong Kong dollars to Anchorpoint before new HKDAP is issued.
2. Anchorpoint mints the corresponding HKDAP to an approved blockchain address.
3. Reserve assets are held separately for token holders. They may include cash, short bank deposits and highly liquid government debt permitted by the HKMA.
4. When a distributor redeems HKDAP, the tokens are burned and Hong Kong dollars are returned. Anchorpoint says it aims to process redemptions within one business day.

The HKDAP whitepaper states that reserve assets must be worth at least as much as all HKDAP in circulation. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) is the reserve manager and custodian, while Standard Chartered Trustee holds the non-digital reserves on trust for token holders.

This is the basic stablecoin model already familiar from USDT and USDC: fiat money goes in, tokens circulate on a blockchain, and holders rely on the issuer and its reserves to redeem them at par. What makes HKDAP different is the currency, the Hong Kong licence and the way Anchorpoint plans to distribute it.

Why Standard Chartered is involved

Standard Chartered has several jobs in the HKDAP system.

Role	What Standard Chartered does
Shareholder	It is Anchorpoint’s majority owner and largest shareholder.
Reserve manager	It manages the assets backing HKDAP.
Custodian	It safeguards the reserve cash and securities.
Distributor	It gives eligible clients a bank channel for obtaining and using HKDAP.
Commercial partner	It is developing settlement, treasury and cross-border payment uses across its network.

The distributor role is the new part. Anchorpoint uses a wholesale model rather than trying to onboard every user itself. Authorised distributors handle customer accounts, identity checks and access to the token. HashKey and OSL provided the first crypto-native channels. Standard Chartered adds corporate clients, asset managers and a banking network spanning multiple markets.

This also explains why the partners behind Anchorpoint are so different. Standard Chartered brings banking infrastructure and institutional clients. HKT brings consumer and small-business reach through services such as Tap & Go. Animoca Brands brings companies and users already active in Web3. The consortium is designed to cover the path from issuance to real use.

What problem are they trying to solve?

Traditional Hong Kong dollar payments already work well inside Hong Kong. FPS is fast and widely available. HKDAP is aimed at situations where ordinary bank money does not move easily, especially when a transaction crosses systems, time zones or blockchain networks.

The clearest example is a tokenised investment fund. A fund token may trade on a blockchain at any hour, but the cash payment can still depend on bank opening times and separate settlement systems. HKDAP can provide the cash side of that trade on the same network. In theory, the fund token and payment can settle together instead of one side waiting for the other.

Standard Chartered has named three initial uses:

• subscriptions and settlement for tokenised money market funds, planned for the fourth quarter of 2026;
• transfers between companies in the same group for treasury and liquidity management; and
• cross-border payments, particularly for multinational companies.

For a company operating across Asia, the attraction is not simply speed. An always-available settlement asset can reduce the amount of money left waiting between accounts, make payment timing more predictable and connect directly to tokenised assets and smart contracts.

It does not remove every cost or risk. A business still needs identity checks, a distributor and banking access. Foreign-currency payments still require an exchange into or out of HKD. The blockchain may operate all day, but redemption into a bank account is not instant. HKDAP is a new settlement rail, not magic money.

The long-term goal

The current beta is small and institution-led, but the product plan is broader. Anchorpoint wants HKDAP to become a general-purpose Hong Kong dollar for public blockchain networks.

That would give it four possible markets:

• moving company money across accounts and borders;
• settling tokenised funds, securities and other real-world assets;
• merchant and consumer payments through wallets, cards and apps; and
• financial applications that need a programmable HKD payment unit.

The rollout is deliberately staged. Standard Chartered is starting with a defined set of eligible institutional clients. The whitepaper points to future participation from HKT’s payment network, Standard Chartered’s retail reach and Animoca’s Web3 companies. Anchorpoint also says HKDAP may expand beyond Ethereum.

Hong Kong’s policy goal is wider than this one token. The HKMA describes stablecoins as privately issued digital money that could settle blockchain transactions more efficiently, but it also warns about redemption, money laundering and financial stability risks. Its licensing system is an attempt to let private companies build the products while keeping reserves, governance and customer protection under regulatory supervision.

For Hong Kong, this is also an infrastructure strategy. If more funds, bonds, trade documents and payments move onto blockchain networks, those markets need money that can settle on the same networks. HKDAP is one attempt to make sure the Hong Kong dollar has a place in that system.

Analysis: Is HKDAP Hong Kong’s answer to USDT?

In one sense, yes. USDT proved that people will use tokenised fiat money at enormous scale when it is liquid, easy to transfer and available around the clock. Standard Chartered’s own research on non-USD stablecoins says dollar-backed tokens account for more than 98% of stablecoin market value. The bank sees stablecoins becoming financial infrastructure rather than remaining chips used inside crypto exchanges.

But HKDAP is not trying to beat USDT at being a global digital dollar. It is trying to build a regulated HKD lane for Hong Kong finance and regional trade. That distinction matters. A company that earns, reports and settles in Hong Kong dollars may not want dollar exposure for every on-chain transaction.

The larger strategic concern is digital dollarisation. If almost all blockchain settlement happens through USDT, USDC or another dollar token, local currencies lose relevance as finance moves on-chain. Standard Chartered’s report argues that local-currency stablecoins can keep domestic currencies usable inside global digital networks. HKDAP fits that thesis almost exactly.

Success is not guaranteed. USDT has deep liquidity and years of network effects. Hong Kong also has efficient bank payments, so HKDAP must prove that it solves a real problem rather than merely putting HKD on Ethereum. The first serious test will be whether the planned fund, treasury and cross-border pilots attract repeat use without relying on incentives.

The security issue still matters

HKDAP has not been hacked, lost its peg or been shown to lack reserves. However, BlockSec’s August review found weaknesses in its deployed KYC and governance contracts. Our earlier investigation explained those findings in detail.

We checked the contracts again on August 25. The six core proxy implementations had not changed since BlockSec’s review, and one role holder was still able to complete a 5,000 HKDAP mint in a single transaction. Anchorpoint says the on-chain contracts are only one part of a larger control system that includes off-chain approvals, but it has not published a detailed technical response or a remediated deployment.

That issue should not be confused with the product’s purpose. HKDAP has a clear use case, and Standard Chartered’s distribution deal gives it a credible route to customers. The question is whether the technology and controls can meet the standard expected from licensed, bank-backed money as usage grows.

The reserve picture is also still early. Anchorpoint’s first unaudited weekly statement reported HK$522,000 of HKDAP in circulation and HK$1.624 million of reserves as of August 19, including about HK$1.1 million funded by the issuer as additional collateral. The beta was therefore well backed according to the statement, but still tiny. Independent reserve attestations are planned after the full launch.

HKDAP FAQ

Who issues HKDAP?

Anchorpoint Financial Limited issues HKDAP under a licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) is Anchorpoint's majority owner, reserve manager, custodian and first bank distributor.

Is HKDAP issued by the Hong Kong government?

No. HKDAP is privately issued and regulated by the HKMA. It is separate from the e-HKD, which is Hong Kong's central bank digital currency project.

Is one HKDAP always worth one Hong Kong dollar?

HKDAP is designed to be issued and redeemed at HK$1. Anchorpoint must maintain reserve assets worth at least the value of HKDAP in circulation. Market prices on third-party platforms can still vary, and access or redemption fees may apply.

Can the public buy HKDAP?

HKDAP is in a phased beta. Access is provided through authorised distributors to users who meet their account-opening, identity and eligibility requirements. Standard Chartered's initial focus is eligible institutional clients.

Is HKDAP a competitor to USDT?

It competes for some of the same payment and settlement activity, but it serves a different currency market. USDT is a US dollar stablecoin with global crypto liquidity. HKDAP is a regulated Hong Kong dollar token aimed first at institutional settlement, treasury and cross-border uses.

What will Standard Chartered use HKDAP for?

The bank has announced plans for tokenised money market fund settlement, internal group treasury transfers and cross-border payments. Its whitepaper also describes possible future retail and digital asset uses.

Sources and methodology

This article used Standard Chartered’s August 24 distributor announcement, its April licensing announcement, Anchorpoint’s HKDAP whitepaper, product disclosures and weekly reserve statement, the HKMA’s description of the stablecoin regime and Standard Chartered’s research on local-currency stablecoins. The security update used BlockSec’s public review, verified Ethereum contract source and read-only on-chain calls at the block numbers recorded in our original investigation.

Disclosure: This article is for general information and does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. HKDAP remains in a phased rollout. Verify the current contract, reserve reports, distributor terms and eligibility rules before using it.