Animoca‑backed Anchorpoint is preparing to launch HKDAP, a regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, as part of Hong Kong’s push to make bank‑grade fiat tokens core financial infrastructure.
Anchorpoint Financial Technology, a joint venture backed by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands, will launch a regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin called HKDAP (HKD At Par) in the second quarter of 2026 after securing a stablecoin issuer licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The licence, granted under Hong Kong’s new Stablecoins Ordinance that took effect on August 1, 2025, makes Anchorpoint one of the city’s first authorised issuers of fiat‑referenced stablecoins and clears the way for a phased rollout of HKDAP for institutional and eventually retail use.
HKDAP Hong Kong dollar stablecoin licence
In its licence announcement, Anchorpoint said it “targets to issue the regulated Hong Kong dollar‑backed stablecoin HKDAP (i.e. HKD At Par) with a phased approach from the second quarter of this year,” positioning the token as a new settlement rail for digital markets. The company is a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) and was jointly established by Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands in February 2025 with the explicit goal of issuing and advancing licensed stablecoins under HKMA oversight. According to HKMA and industry reporting, each HKDAP token will be backed 1:1 by high‑quality, highly liquid HKD‑denominated reserves, in line with Hong Kong’s rules for HKD‑referenced stablecoins.
Animoca says HKD stablecoin is ‘crucial’ for Hong Kong
Animoca Brands’ group president Evan Auyang has framed a regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin as core market infrastructure rather than a speculative token. In an interview with National Business Daily, Auyang said “stablecoins are the bridge between native and enterprise Web3” and argued that “mainland assets going global need a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin,” highlighting Hong Kong’s role as an offshore capital window for China. He added that such a coin is “crucial for Hong Kong’s financial infrastructure” and would support “games, trade, and 24/7 financial settlement,” tying HKDAP directly to Web3 gaming, cross‑border commerce and always‑on payments.
HKMA stablecoin regime and market context
Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance is one of the most prescriptive stablecoin frameworks globally, requiring full 1:1 reserve backing, segregated assets, strict liquidity criteria and ongoing disclosure for any fiat‑referenced tokens offered to the public. The HKMA originally aimed to approve the first HKD‑referenced stablecoin licences by March 2026 but missed that target, making the April authorisations for Anchorpoint and a parallel HSBC‑linked issuer a key milestone. According to Hong Kong officials, the goal is to create “a secure tokenised medium of exchange for the digital economy and to facilitate international payments and capital flows,” while avoiding the opacity that has plagued parts of the global stablecoin market.aastocks+5
Hong Kong’s HKDAP stablecoin in Asia’s digital money race
The HKDAP launch comes as regional hubs compete to anchor regulated stablecoin activity and tokenised money flows in Asia. Singapore has pursued its own regime and pilot projects, while jurisdictions such as the EU have introduced MiCA‑style rules for fiat‑backed tokens, but Hong Kong is among the first to license a bank‑linked HKD stablecoin intended for broad use in payments, gaming and finance. As highlighted in crypto.news coverage of institutional real‑world asset tokenization and the global stablecoin market, regulated stablecoins are increasingly seen by banks and Web3 firms as the settlement layer for tokenised treasuries and other on‑chain assets, a role HKDAP is designed to play for the Hong Kong dollar.
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