Anchorpoint Financial has named HashKey Exchange as an authorized distributor for HKDAP, giving Hong Kong’s regulated stablecoin push a live access channel for eligible institutions and professional investors.
- HashKey is now an authorized distributor for HKDAP’s beta rollout
- Access is limited to institutions and professional investors for now
- HKDAP is built for payments and settlement, not speculative trading
- Hong Kong’s stablecoin regime is tightly controlled under the Stablecoins Ordinance
- U.S. dollar stablecoins still dominate the global market by a wide margin
HKDAP stands for “HKD At Par”, and the name tells you what it is meant to do: track the Hong Kong dollar one-for-one. That makes it a payment and settlement tool, not a new casino chip for crypto tourists hunting the next moon shot.
According to Anchorpoint, the beta program now lets eligible institutions and professional investors mint, redeem, and convert HKDAP through HashKey’s platform and supported channels. HashKey said it has already completed its first HKDAP minting and redemption transaction with eligible clients, covering conversion from fiat currency into HKDAP and back again.
That matters because minting and redemption are the real stress test for any stablecoin. Minting means creating the token when fiat enters the system. Redemption means swapping it back out for cash. If redemption gets stuck, delayed, or rationed, the “stable” part starts looking like marketing fluff with a nice logo.
Anchorpoint CEO and co-founder Dominic Maffei said the immediate focus is on “regulated tokenised money in real-world settings, including payments and settlement use cases.” That is the right lane. Stablecoins are most useful when they behave like boring financial plumbing: fast, liquid, and actually redeemable.
HashKey Exchange CEO Haiyang Ru said the platform would connect the issuer with financial institutions and market participants while providing “compliant, secure, and convenient market access and circulation support for HKDAP.” In plain English, HashKey is acting as a regulated bridge between traditional finance and the token itself.
That bridge matters because Hong Kong is trying to build stablecoin infrastructure without repeating the usual crypto mess: shaky reserves, sloppy controls, and too many people saying “trust us” right before something goes sideways. The city’s Stablecoins Ordinance took effect on Aug. 1, 2025, and licensed issuers are expected to operate under HKMA authorization, keep eligible reserve assets, process redemptions at par, and maintain risk-management, governance, and anti-money laundering controls.
The idea is simple enough. If a stablecoin claims to be worth one Hong Kong dollar, it should actually be redeemable for one Hong Kong dollar. Revolutionary stuff, apparently.
Hong Kong regulators have also warned the public about counterfeit assets using the names of HSBC and HKDAP. The HKMA said those fake tokens appeared before either licensed issuer began circulation, which is a good reminder that scammers move faster than regulators and often with less shame than a landfill fox in a sneaker store.
Anchorpoint itself is not coming out of nowhere. The project was created by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT, and Animoca Brands after participating in the HKMA’s stablecoin issuer sandbox. The sandbox is a supervised testing environment where regulators can watch how a product behaves before it is let loose on the public. That is a far better approach than the old crypto tradition of shipping first and apologizing later.
The company also worked with OSL Group and PantherTrade on an Ethereum mainnet test in May, covering fiat funding, issuance, transfer, and redemption. Mainnet means the live blockchain network, not a practice arena. If the system breaks there, it breaks in front of real users with real money attached.
Hong Kong is moving carefully for a reason. A regulated stablecoin market is only useful if the reserve assets are solid, the redemptions are reliable, and the compliance stack does not collapse the moment someone tries to use the token at scale. That is especially important in a market that has seen plenty of crypto hype merchants dress up risk as innovation.
Still, Hong Kong dollar stablecoins are not trying to outmuscle U.S. dollar stablecoins in a straight fight. They serve a different purpose: local payments, settlement, and tokenized financial activity in Hong Kong dollar terms. That makes HKDAP more of a regional infrastructure play than a global reserve token.
The scale gap is real. Citi estimated in a 2025 report that stablecoins circulating through Hong Kong platforms could eventually reach about $16 billion, or HK$124.8 billion, while Bernstein reported that adjusted transaction volume for Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC reached about $3.8 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. Those figures measure different things, so they are not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, but the message is clear enough: the U.S. dollar stablecoin ecosystem is already a giant, and Hong Kong is building a tightly regulated niche beside it.
That does not make HKDAP small in strategic terms. It makes it focused. A Hong Kong dollar stablecoin can be useful wherever Hong Kong-dollar-denominated settlement matters, especially if it plugs into business payments and tokenized finance without turning into a compliance nightmare.
Access is still deliberately narrow. The current beta is limited to eligible institutions and professional investors, and retail customers are not included yet. In Hong Kong, professional investors generally refers to regulated high-net-worth individuals and entities that meet specific thresholds. It is a way of keeping the early rollout inside a more controlled environment while the system is tested in the real world.
Reuters reported on Aug. 12 that Anchorpoint could extend access to retail customers by the end of 2026. That is a reported timeline, not a guaranteed promise, and timelines in crypto are often more flexible than a rubber hammer.
The U.S. angle matters too. HKDAP’s Hong Kong license does not automatically authorize U.S. distribution, because financial products do not cross borders by magic. The Treasury Proposes Rule to Implement the GENIUS Act’s federal framework for payment stablecoins in July 2025, and a U.S. Treasury proposal in April 2026 said permitted issuers must meet Bank Secrecy Act obligations and maintain anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs.
So while Hong Kong and the U.S. are taking different routes, they are converging on the same basic conclusion: if you want to issue money-like tokens, you will be treated like a serious financial actor. That is good for legitimacy and bad news for anyone hoping stablecoins would remain a lawless free-for-all forever.
Key questions and takeaways
What is HKDAP?
HKDAP is a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin. It is intended to stay at parity with the Hong Kong dollar and function as a payment and settlement tool rather than a speculative asset.
Why does HashKey’s role matter?
Distribution is where stablecoins become usable. By serving as an authorized distributor, HashKey provides a regulated channel for minting, redemption, and circulation support, which is essential if HKDAP is going to do real financial work.
Who can use HKDAP right now?
The beta rollout is limited to eligible institutions and professional investors. Retail customers are not part of the current access window.
Why is Hong Kong moving so cautiously?
Because stablecoins only work when reserves, redemption, governance, and anti-money laundering controls are taken seriously. Hong Kong is trying to avoid the kind of loose issuance and confidence problems that have burned users before.
Does a Hong Kong license mean U.S. access is automatic?
No. A Hong Kong license does not automatically permit U.S. distribution. Cross-border stablecoin access has to clear separate legal and compliance hurdles, including AML and sanctions rules.
Can HKDAP compete with USDT and USDC?
Not on size, at least not soon. USDT and USDC dominate global stablecoin activity, but HKDAP does not need to beat them outright. It just needs to be useful in Hong Kong-dollar settlement and tokenized finance.
What is the real test for HKDAP?
Whether it can move from controlled beta to reliable financial infrastructure. If minting, redemption, reserves, and compliance all hold up, HKDAP could become useful plumbing instead of another token with a shiny press release and no staying power.
That is the real story here: not hype, not price chatter, but whether Hong Kong can build a stablecoin that functions like money should, predictable, redeemable, and governed tightly enough to survive contact with reality.
Anchorpoint and HashKey Exchange Partner on HKDAP Beta
HashKey begins beta distribution of Hong Kong-regulated HKDAP through its platform.
Hong Kong stablecoin bill's client identity rules spark concern over compliance and user privacy.
HKMA Warns of Fake Stablecoins as Hong Kong Preps Regulated launch conditions and scam risks.
Hong Kong’s HKDAP Stablecoin Tests Live on Ethereum Mainnet marked an early technical milestone.
HKDAP: Hong Kong’s Regulated Stablecoin to Redefine Digital finance by 2026.
Further reading
A few useful pieces for extra context on Hong Kong’s stablecoin push, the compliance angle, and the wider market backdrop:
