Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP completes its first round of public testing. Can compliant stablecoins carve out a new path in a race dominated by the US dollar?

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Author: ShirleyLi, Researcher at Web3Caff Research

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Compliance Notice: The following content objectively analyzes 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 issuing and participating in token investments are subject to different strict regulatory requirements and restrictions in various countries and regions, especially in Mainland China where issuing tokens is suspected of "illegally issuing securities," and activities such as facilitating token trading are also considered "illegal financial activities" (Mainland Chinese readers are strongly advised to read "Summary of Laws and Regulations Related to Blockchain and Virtual Currencies in Mainland China and Key Highlights"). Therefore, do not base any decisions on this information, and strictly comply with the laws and regulations of your country or region. Do not participate in any illegal financial activities.

On May 13, the stablecoin payment and trading platform OSL Group, the virtual asset trading platform PantherTrade under Futu Holdings, and Hong Kong licensed stablecoin issuer Anchorpoint Financial Limited 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 such as exchange between fiat HKD and HKDAP, on-chain transfers, and redemptions.

Anchorpoint Financial Limited is a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, jointly established by Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Hong Kong Telecom, and Animoca Brands in February 2025. HKDAP (Hong Kong Dollar Anchor Point) is their planned first compliant Hong Kong dollar stablecoin.

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 (Extended reading: "Hong Kong passes the 'Stablecoin Bill Draft,' what impact will it have on global stablecoin compliance and the internationalization strategy of the RMB?"). In April this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority officially granted the first batch of two stablecoin issuer licenses based on this ordinance. It is reported that 36 institutions initially applied, but only Anchorpoint Financial Limited and HSBC Hong Kong were granted licenses. This licensing move is seen as completing the "legislation—review—licensing" regulatory cycle and advancing stablecoin regulation into the implementation and business preparation stage. [1]

Image source: HSBC and Standard Chartered licensed, first to promote Hong Kong dollar stablecoin

Among them, Anchorpoint Financial plans to issue the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin "HKDAP" in phases starting from the second quarter of this year, adopting a "B2B2C (business-to-business-to-consumer)" issuance model, i.e., distributing to designated authorized distributors, who then open to the public. In the testing mentioned at the beginning of this article, OSL Group and PantherTrade verified the full circulation chain from issuer to institutional users and then to individual users as authorized distributors of HKDAP.

HSBC 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’s liquidity management app.

From the pilot perspective, the two institutions focus on slightly different areas. HSBC plans to initially offer P2P (peer-to-peer) payments, P2M (personal-to-merchant) payments, and tokenized investment services. That is, HSBC will focus on scenarios related to everyday consumer and banking services; while Anchorpoint Financial’s focus includes cross-border settlement and payment solutions, as well as on-chain settlement and distribution of RWA (real-world assets), mainly targeting institutional applications.

From a macro perspective, although both belong to the stablecoin system, Hong Kong dollar stablecoins and the currently dominant US dollar stablecoins differ significantly in development paths and potential positioning. The fundamental reason is that the market environments and core needs for their emergence are not the same.

In the early development of the Web3 industry, the core role of US dollar stablecoins was to provide a hedging tool for highly volatile assets and serve as a medium for on-chain transactions. Later, with the development of decentralized finance, on-chain derivatives, and other markets, US dollar stablecoins further became the foundational liquidity assets within the entire on-chain financial system. This highly financialized and globalized liquidity structure also makes the US dollar stablecoin system more complex in terms of regulation.

In contrast, Hong Kong’s positioning for HKD stablecoins is more cautious and leans toward a "regulatory-first" approach to financial infrastructure. Currently, HKD stablecoins are mainly positioned as vehicles for RWA trading, serving as a trustworthy, stable, and compliant on-chain settlement medium for tokenized assets. From a longer-term perspective, the future potential of HKD stablecoins may extend beyond RWA trading and merchant settlement, which are currently in pilot stages, to more challenging fields such as international trade settlement and cross-border payments.

However, unlike government-backed fiat currency systems, HKD stablecoins are still fundamentally issued by licensed companies and pegged to fiat HKD. Their security heavily depends on the issuer’s compliant operation and the actual custody of reserve assets.

If licensed issuers only develop payment, settlement, and RWA services within their own business scope, this relatively localized small financial closed-loop is more controllable and feasible in the early stages. But if HKD stablecoins further enter international trade settlement, cross-border payments, and larger-scale on-chain financial scenarios, issues such as liquidity interoperability, clearing coordination, and market acceptance among different HKD stablecoins will gradually emerge.

Additionally, as mentioned earlier, there are differences in positioning between HKD stablecoins and USD stablecoins. While USD stablecoins face complex regulatory issues, they have accumulated deeper liquidity and broader usage scenarios. HKD stablecoins are still exploring practical applications. Ultimately, whether the HKD stablecoin system, including HKDAP, can succeed depends on whether it can generate a strong network effect and sufficient real payment demand. Given the established advantage of USD stablecoins, whether the Hong Kong model can find a different path remains to be seen over time.

Key diagram:

References

[1] Hong Kong licensing, stablecoin landscape reshaped: Who is redefining the next-generation financial map?

[2] HSBC and Standard Chartered licensed, first to promote Hong Kong dollar stablecoin

[3] Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint granted Stablecoin Issuer Licence by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

[4] Hong Kong officially moves! In-depth analysis of the first batch of HKD stablecoins HKDAP

[5] 3 licensed institutions test HKDAP stablecoin on Ethereum in Hong Kong

[6] OSL Group and Anchorpoint completed the first regulated Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin transfer on the public chain

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