Standard Chartered JV receives HK stablecoin license

Standard Chartered's joint venture has received a HKD stablecoin license by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority under the new Stablecoins Ordinance (effective 1 August 2025).

Anchorpoint Financial Limited, a joint venture with HKT and Animoca Brands, plans to launch a regulated HKD-backed stablecoin, HKDAP (HKD At Par), with a phased rollout starting in Q2.

Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered: “At Standard Chartered, we are committed to embracing innovation and see ourselves as a vital link between clients and financial markets."

Mary Huen, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered: “This breakthrough not only unveils a new chapter for Hong Kong in advancing its digital assets ecosystem but also underscores our long‑standing commitment to innovation."

Dominic Maffei, Chief Executive Officer, Anchorpoint, said, “At Anchorpoint, we focus on empowering the ecosystem with a secure, accessible and regulated form of tokenised money."

➡️ Market Signal

1️⃣ HK prefers bank-led model

While the global narrative often centres on fintechs and crypto-native issuers, Hong Kong is making a clear structural choice:

Stablecoins = an extension of the banking system; NOT a replacement of it

Licensing a bank-backed JV signals where regulators want monetary trust and balance sheet risk to sit. 

2️⃣ B2B2C is the monetisation blueprint

Anchorpoint is going to adopt a business-to-business-to-consumer (“B2B2C”) model. 

👉 Banks provide the regulated money, issuance and trust layer

👉 Partners provide distribution, UX, and customer flow

This model is likely to become the default model for institutional stablecoin growth.

Unlike popular crypto or stablecoin narrative that banks will be displaced by stablecoins, this proves that banks will be the backbone of a stablecoin financial system with their network coverage and extensive value add financial services.

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