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Points of Focus
- Hong Kong approved two of 36 stablecoin license applicants, a 94% rejection rate.
- Anchorpoint launched HKDAP’s institutional beta on Aug. 12 on public Ethereum.
- HSBC’s competing stablecoin is expected in the second half of 2026.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) had received 36 formal applications for its first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses by the Sept. 30, 2025, deadline.
It approved two, Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC, on April 10, 2026, a decision the HKMA said reflected which applicants had “demonstrated their capabilities to properly manage risks with credible use cases and development plans,” according to the regulator’s own statement.
That works out to a roughly 5.6% approval rate, or 94% of applicants turned away, in the first cohort under Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect Aug. 1, 2025. Both winners share a structural trait outside crypto entirely: HSBC and Standard Chartered, the banks leading the Anchorpoint joint venture alongside Animoca Brands and HKT, are two of only three commercial banks authorized to print Hong Kong dollar banknotes.
HKDAP goes live on a public chain, not a private one
Anchorpoint began the institutional phase of HKDAP, short for “HKD At Par,” on Aug. 12, offering the Hong Kong dollar-pegged token to institutional distributors and professional investors through beta access. HashKey Exchange completed the first minting and redemption transaction as an authorized distributor, alongside OSL Group.
🤝 HashKey Exchange and Anchorpoint Partner on HKDAP Beta Access.
HashKey Exchange joins as a key authorised distributor to support the ecosystem development and wider adoption of HKDAP, the first regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. Eligible institutions and professional… pic.twitter.com/1FJsxwdhE8
— HashKey Exchange (@HashKeyExchange) August 12, 2026
The notable technical choice is that HKDAP runs on Ethereum’s public mainnet rather than a permissioned or private ledger, an infrastructure decision that stands out for a token issued under one of the tightest bank-led licensing regimes currently in force.
Anchorpoint is distributing HKDAP through a business-to-business-to-consumer model, routing access through approved partners rather than issuing directly to end users, and the token pays no interest, positioning it as payment infrastructure rather than a yield product.
A distribution gap Anchorpoint does not yet have
HSBC, the other licensee, has not yet launched its own stablecoin and is targeting the second half of 2026, with distribution expected through PayMe, its mobile wallet with 3.3 million existing users.
That built-in retail base is a scale advantage Anchorpoint currently lacks since HKDAP’s initial phase is restricted to institutions and professional investors, with retail access targeted for as early as the end of 2026 depending on market conditions.
Anchorpoint reached the market first, but HSBC’s stablecoin has not yet been priced, named, or dated beyond the H2 2026 window, leaving PayMe’s 3.3-million-user head start as the number that will decide whether being first counts for more than being bigger.
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