Hong Kong's regulated stablecoin HKDAP just cleared a major technical hurdle. On May 13, 2026, OSL Group and Anchorpoint Financial confirmed that HKDAP transfer tests on the Ethereum mainnet finished without issues. Wu Blockchain brought the news to the broader crypto community on May 21.
This was no private chain experiment or controlled sandbox. HKDAP was minted, moved, and settled on a live public blockchain with zero failures. Mainnet transactions carry a different weight than internal tests, and that gap matters.
What Is HKDAP and Who Issues It?
Short for "HKD At Par," HKDAP is a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar. Anchorpoint Financial issues it, a joint venture built by Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong, HKT, and Animoca Brands. On April 10, 2026, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted stablecoin issuer licenses to both HSBC and Anchorpoint under the Stablecoins Ordinance. Anchorpoint holds license number FRS01, making it one of the first regulated stablecoin issuers in Asia.
Three licensed firms ran the test together: Anchorpoint as the issuer, OSL Group as the licensed digital asset platform for transfers, and PantherTrade, a Futu Holdings-backed licensed virtual asset platform. The full cycle worked: HKD fiat moved into reserve assets through Standard Chartered's banking infrastructure, backing on-chain minting and transfers, with all tokens redeemed at the end.
What the Mainnet Test Actually Proved
The stablecoin cleared every stage—minting, transfer between licensed parties, redemption, all on Ethereum's public mainnet, without a hitch. A spokesperson confirmed the test validates both the technical setup and the compliance framework ahead of actual issuance. Regulatory approval and blockchain execution are moving forward together, not waiting on each other.
Picking Ethereum was deliberate. It gives HKDAP direct access to DeFi protocols, institutional wallets, and crypto exchanges without building new infrastructure from scratch.
Roadmap: Phased Issuance in Q2 2026
Phased issuance is on track for the second quarter of 2026. Anchorpoint's Dominic Maffei described the rollout as methodical and gradual, with the core focus on improving payments and cross-border capital movement. The roadmap includes broader institutional access via licensed trading platforms, cross-border payment use cases between Hong Kong and mainland China, and potential expansion to blockchains beyond Ethereum.
HKDAP is not yet in public circulation—test tokens were all redeemed. But with the Q2 2026 issuance confirmed and three licensed institutions already running successful mainnet transfers, the public launch is drawing close.
For investors, this is a real signal. Regulated, government-backed stablecoins going live on public blockchains means institutional crypto infrastructure is being built now, not just discussed.