Standard Chartered begins distributing Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP
DeFi & Yields ·
Standard Chartered has become the first bank to distribute Anchorpoint's Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, HKDAP, making the token available to eligible clients and partners.
The move places a G-SIB directly in the distribution chain for a regulated Hong Kong dollar-pegged token, a step beyond the research coverage and custody work that has defined much of the bank's crypto involvement to date. According to Coindesk, Standard Chartered is now offering HKDAP to a defined set of eligible clients and partners rather than the broader public, positioning the bank as a gateway for institutional access to the token.
The distribution deal fits into a wider pattern of Standard Chartered building out infrastructure across custody, fiat rails, and stablecoin issuance in Asia. The bank's Zodia Custody unit, along with Visa and Stripe, has also become a validator on the Tempo payments blockchain, and Standard Chartered has separately launched integrated access to USDC minting and redemption with Circle, described as the first such arrangement led by a globally systemic bank. Those efforts, paired with the HKDAP distribution role, extend a stablecoin and settlement footprint that already spans multiple currencies and partners.
The bank's engagement with digital assets is not limited to infrastructure. Standard Chartered has published Bitcoin and Ethereum price targets through its research arm, executed live Bitcoin and ether prime brokerage trades with LMAX, and initiated coverage on the DeFi lending token Morpho with a price target through 2030. Its innovation arm has also backed a tokenization firm now used by GSR for a web3 investment bank push, and the bank has weighed folding Zodia Custody into its corporate bank arm as its crypto activities expand. Two sources cover the HKDAP distribution announcement.
What remains unspecified is the scope of the eligible-client group receiving HKDAP and the volume or timeline for the token's rollout through Standard Chartered's network. Also unclear is how the HKDAP arrangement will interact with the bank's parallel USDC access with Circle and its broader stablecoin strategy across jurisdictions, and whether other banks will follow with similar distribution agreements for Hong Kong dollar-pegged tokens.