Standard Chartered Becomes First Bank to Distribute HKDAP Stablecoin

The rollout follows the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s decision in April to grant stablecoin issuer licenses to only two entities: Anchorpoint and HSBC. While HashKey Exchange and OSL began offering beta access earlier in August, Standard Chartered is the first conventional bank to integrate the stablecoin into its distribution network. Anchorpoint, which counts Standard Chartered as its largest shareholder, reported 522,000 HKDAP in circulation as of August 19, reflecting the current controlled beta phase.

Expanding Tokenized Fund Settlement

Standard Chartered intends to leverage the stablecoin to modernize money market fund operations. By the fourth quarter of 2026, the bank plans to introduce subscription and settlement services that allow the cash side of a transaction to exist on the same blockchain infrastructure as the fund units. This integration aims to shrink the latency between investment transfers and final payment. Although the bank has not yet disclosed specific participating asset managers, the project builds on existing infrastructure developed through the HKMA’s Project Ensemble and previous work with China Asset Management Hong Kong.

Despite the operational launch, the project remains in a pilot stage. Security researcher Yajin Zhou recently published an independent analysis of the HKDAP Ethereum contract, raising questions regarding its custom access-control architecture. While no losses or exploits have been identified, the review highlights the ongoing scrutiny surrounding the stablecoin’s technical framework. For now, the HKMA continues to advise users to verify contract addresses strictly through authorized channels to avoid fraudulent tokens.