Standard Chartered becomes first bank to distribute HKDAP stablecoin
DeFi & Yields ·
The bank will offer Anchorpoint's Hong Kong dollar-pegged token to eligible clients and partners, marking a new distribution channel for regulated stablecoins in the region.
Standard Chartered has become the first bank to distribute HKDAP, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin issued by Anchorpoint, according to Coindesk. The arrangement makes the bank a distribution point for the token among eligible clients and partners rather than an issuer of the stablecoin itself.
The move extends Standard Chartered's presence in Hong Kong's digital-asset infrastructure, where it has separately said it is building out custody, fiat rails, and tokenisation capabilities. Distribution partnerships of this kind let a regulated bank channel a licensed stablecoin to institutional counterparties without taking on issuance risk, positioning the bank as a bridge between the token issuer and end users who require bank-grade counterparty relationships.
The development has been corroborated across multiple outlets, with wublockchain.xyz also reporting that Standard Chartered is the first bank to distribute HKDAP, describing it as expanding institutional use cases including tokenized funds and cross-border payments. Three distinct sources have covered the announcement, pointing to broader interest in how a G-SIB-scale bank engages with a Hong Kong-regulated stablecoin.
The HKDAP distribution sits alongside a wider pattern of Standard Chartered activity in digital assets, including its work with Zodia Custody, its research coverage of crypto assets, and other stablecoin-related initiatives it has pursued with partners such as Circle. Taken together, these moves suggest the bank is treating regulated stablecoin distribution as one lane within a broader institutional crypto build-out rather than an isolated product launch.
Not yet detailed is which specific clients and partners are eligible to receive HKDAP through Standard Chartered, what volume or transaction limits apply, or how the distribution arrangement is structured contractually with Anchorpoint. Also unclear is whether other banks will seek similar distribution deals for HKDAP or comparable Hong Kong dollar stablecoins, and how regulators will treat bank-distributed stablecoins relative to bank-issued ones going forward.