Hong Kong’s first licensed HKD stablecoin push has cooled sharply, according to a Foresight News report that cites multiple people close to the business. The article says enthusiasm for stablecoins in general has not translated into confidence in Hong Kong dollar stablecoins specifically, even after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued its first two licenses in April 2026. Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint Fintech is described as the more proactive player, while HSBC is portrayed as far more cautious and more interested in tokenized deposits than stablecoins. The report says market participants now fall into several camps: firms that want exposure but doubt the business case, firms that joined only because regulation pushed them in, and firms with clear use cases and motivation that remain outside the core structure. Among licensed crypto exchanges, reactions range from outright pessimism to limited testing paired with strategic caution. One exchange source said HKD stablecoins do not offer a visible path to profit, especially as licensed exchanges in Hong Kong are themselves still losing money. Foresight also places Hong Kong in a broader global context, arguing that non-dollar stablecoins are struggling across major financial centers. It points to weak market share for euro stablecoins, restrictive trust-bank rules in Japan, and delayed policymaking in South Korea. With the global stablecoin market nearing $308.3 billion and dollar stablecoins accounting for 98%, the report argues Hong Kong has launched early but without strong market conviction.

Tokenized money market and Treasury funds are moving beyond their original role as yield products and into a new position inside institutional digital cash systems. By May 2026, tokenized Treasury and money market funds had reached about $10 billion in combined assets, with BlackRock’s BUIDL alone accounting for roughly 40% of that total. At the same time, Hong Kong moved tokenized funds from a subscription-and-redemption model toward 24/7 secondary trading, while banks in Singapore began testing tokenized fund shares as collateral for lending and trading activity. The competition is now centered on utility rather than issuance alone. In the United States, tokenized funds are increasingly being tied to stablecoin reserve structures, including JPMorgan’s JLTXX on Ethereum, which is designed for reserve use under the GENIUS Act framework. Europe and the UK are focusing on fitting these products into formal regulatory systems. Singapore is pushing the collateral use case. Hong Kong, meanwhile, is trying to combine issuers, banks, trading venues and settlement infrastructure in one regulated market structure. What is emerging is not simply a new wrapper for traditional money funds. Tokenized fund shares are being tested as assets that can circulate across trading, settlement and credit networks. That raises a broader question for asset managers, banks and crypto platforms alike: in a market where cash management tools, bank deposits and digital currencies start to share the same rails, who will control access to the system itself?

Anchorpoint, a joint venture formed by Standard Chartered, Animoca Brands, and HKT, has launched the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP and opened the first phase to institutional distributors, corporate clients, and professional investors. The company said it has been advancing the project in stages since receiving a stablecoin issuer license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April, and has completed issuance and transfer testing over recent months. The initial rollout centers on fiat-to-HKDAP conversion through authorized distributors, with early use cases aimed at cross-border payments and trading and settlement for tokenized real-world assets. Anchorpoint said the stablecoin’s around-the-clock transfer and settlement mechanism is designed to shorten transaction times, reduce costs, and improve predictability, liquidity management, and operating efficiency for participating institutions and service providers. OSL Group and HashKey Exchange, Hong Kong’s two licensed virtual asset trading platforms, have been confirmed as authorized distributors. OSL said eligible clients can subscribe, redeem, convert, trade, and settle HKDAP through OSL HK, while HashKey said it has completed its first HKDAP minting and redemption transaction for qualified clients.

A dense stream of updates hit crypto and AI markets between Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, spanning venture funding, protocol incidents, regulatory moves, exchange actions and large on-chain transfers. PANews’ roundup included Lovable’s $400 million Series C at a $13.3 billion valuation, Wintermute’s plan to spend about $1 billion over five years on high-frequency trading and AI data center infrastructure, and Tencent’s second-quarter results showing higher capital expenditure tied to AI spending. In digital assets, Harmony said it had traced fraudulently minted tokens across 409 wallets and was considering a rollback, while Solana briefly came close to a network-freeze threshold after a data center routing issue knocked nearly 29% of staked SOL offline. Anchorpoint also began the first phase of distributing its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP, and Coinbase said it will suspend 10 perpetual contracts on Aug. 26. Whale activity remained active as well, including an Ethereum ICO participant moving 2,000 ETH to Coinbase, a wallet sending 2,300 BTC to Wintermute-linked deposit addresses since June 25, and a leveraged ETH trader closing out positions for a reported $4.3 million profit. The period also brought new product releases from Grok and DeepSeek, a major SEC no-action letter tied to Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund, and fresh scrutiny of prediction markets from U.S. regulators and New York City lawmakers.

Anchorpoint, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered, has formally launched the first phase of issuance for HKDAP, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, according to The Block. The initial rollout opens test access to institutional distributors and professional investors rather than the broader market. Anchorpoint was established as a joint venture involving Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands. In April this year, the company received a stablecoin issuer license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, making it one of the first licensed institutions in the city’s new regime. The phase-one launch marks the start of live testing under that framework, with participation currently limited to professional and institutional channels named in the report.

OSL Group (HKEX: 863), a stablecoin payments and trading platform, said it has become an early approved distributor of HKDAP, a regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin from Hong Kong-licensed issuer Ding Dian Financial Technology. OSL will handle distribution and liquidity support, with services initially open to professional investors through its licensed exchange OSL HK, enabling fiat-to-HKDAP subscription, redemption, exchange, trading and settlement. The two partners have completed technical preparation and will focus the first institutional phase on tokenized funds, trade finance and cross-border payments. OSL CEO Kevin Cui described the appointment as a milestone in deepening cooperation, adding that regulated stablecoins are set to bridge digital assets and mainstream finance.

HashKey Exchange and Anchorpoint Financial Limited said HashKey has joined the first institutional phase of HKDAP, or HKD At Par, as a primary authorized distributor. Under the arrangement, HashKey will support distribution, trading and related services for the regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. The companies said qualified institutions and professional investors can access HKDAP starting immediately through the HashKey app and other designated channels. HashKey also said it has completed the first HKDAP minting and redemption transaction for qualified clients, a step meant to verify the subscription and redemption process between HKDAP and fiat currency. HashKey Exchange Exchange Business Group CEO Haiyang Ru said the platform aims to connect issuers, financial institutions and market participants while providing compliant, secure and convenient market access. Anchorpoint Financial CEO and co-founder Dominic Maffei said market access and distribution will be key as regulated stablecoins move into practical use. The two firms said they plan to add more access channels and applications as preparations advance and market demand matures, with future use cases including payments, settlement and tokenized assets. They also said they want to expand cooperation with participants in digital assets, financial services and payments.

HashKey Holdings Limited said its wholly owned subsidiary, HKDAG (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., has entered into a non-legally binding framework agreement with the major shareholders of Asia Pacific Exchange Pte. Ltd. and APEX itself for a proposed acquisition of all equity interests in APEX. The target operates financial market infrastructure in Singapore and holds a Monetary Authority of Singapore-recognized exchange license for derivatives trading, while its subsidiary Asia Pacific Clear Pte. Ltd. holds a recognized clearing house license. According to the company, only three institutions in Singapore currently hold both types of licenses under the city-state’s regulatory framework. HashKey said the proposed deal, if completed, would expand its institutional trading and clearing infrastructure and strengthen its regulated business presence in one of Asia’s core financial markets. The transaction has not been finalized and remains subject to definitive agreements and MAS approval. HashKey said no final documents have been signed and the required regulatory approval has not been obtained, meaning the acquisition may or may not proceed.