Standard Chartered, the London-headquartered bank with $850 billion in assets, said it will become the first bank to distribute a regulated stablecoin in Hong Kong, according to CoinDesk. In an emailed statement issued on Monday, the bank said it will first help eligible institutional clients and partners integrate HKDAP, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin issued by Anchorpoint Financial, where Standard Chartered is the majority shareholder. The bank also said it plans to roll out several new commercial applications for HKDAP over the next month. The stated use cases include money market fund subscriptions, settlements with asset managers, interdepartmental settlements within the bank’s global network, and cross-border payments. Anchorpoint Financial began a limited launch of HKDAP on Aug. 12 after securing one of Hong Kong’s first two issuer licenses four months earlier. The initial rollout is focused on institutional payments and settlements, with more access channels and cross-border applications to be added later. The report also said HSBC, another first-batch license holder, is preparing to launch its own stablecoin in the second half of 2026 and may distribute it through PayMe, which has 3.3 million users.

Nearly a year after Hong Kong moved ahead with its first Hong Kong dollar stablecoin licenses, industry sentiment remains cautious rather than enthusiastic. People close to the local stablecoin business told the author that Standard Chartered-backed AnchorPoint Fintech has shown a more proactive stance, while HSBC has been far less eager. Several licensed crypto exchanges in Hong Kong are also testing or participating tactically, but many do not yet see a clear path to profits. The report argues that the current setup has created a mismatch: some institutions that strongly want to explore Hong Kong dollar stablecoin use cases have not been given a leading role, while some institutions that did receive licenses or central positions are seen as lacking strong commercial motivation. That gap, in the view of market participants cited in the piece, has left the sector with licenses in hand but limited momentum. The article also places Hong Kong in a broader global context. Euro, yen and won stablecoin efforts are described as facing their own structural limits, from low market share and slow adoption to restrictive institutional design and unresolved regulatory disputes. Against a global stablecoin market of nearly $308.3 billion, with dollar stablecoins accounting for 98%, non-dollar stablecoins continue to lag.

Hong Kong’s licensed stablecoin market has entered its opening phase, but the contest over distribution and user access is still wide open. On Aug. 12, Anchorpoint Financial, led by Standard Chartered, began the institutional-phase issuance of HKDAP, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin pegged 1:1 to HKD. HashKey Exchange and OSL Group were named as the first distributors, and HashKey completed the first HKDAP mint and redemption transaction. HSBC, which received a license on the same day as Anchorpoint in April, has chosen a very different path by integrating its stablecoin offering into PayMe and the HSBC HK App, aiming at direct retail reach in the second half of the year. HKDAP is positioned as a non-interest-bearing payment and settlement instrument backed by 100% reserves of high-quality, highly liquid assets held in segregated trust accounts. At the same time, a Aug. 14 review by blockchain security firm BlockSec raised questions about the quality of HKDAP’s Ethereum mainnet contracts, citing flaws in KYC revocation logic, concentration of high-risk permissions under a single key in some cases, no timelock in the governance engine, and overlap between execution and audit roles. Those findings did not allege losses, attacks, or reserve problems, but they introduced a new variable into the market: whether the underlying smart-contract infrastructure can keep up with regulatory and security scrutiny as distribution expands.

Ireland has published its first national anti-money laundering strategy, setting out tighter oversight for crypto activity as the remaining parts of the European Union’s Transfer of Funds Regulation, or TFR, take effect. The strategy says crypto-asset service providers will face enhanced scrutiny when handling transfers involving private or self-hosted wallets, while dealings with overseas crypto companies will be subject to stricter due diligence. It also states that TFR extends the Financial Action Task Force’s Travel Rule to crypto transfers by requiring originator and beneficiary information to accompany transactions, with the stated aim of improving transparency and traceability of fund flows. The WuBlockchain roundup also covered several other industry developments. HashKey Exchange said it completed real-fund subscription and redemption tests for the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP with YF Life, exploring insurance payment use cases. Binance said it will stop processing transactions involving a list of crypto service providers and platforms on a phased timetable beginning August 7, August 13, and August 23. In the United States, the City of Baltimore sued Kalshi and Polymarket over allegations that they offered unlicensed sports betting services. Separately, Binance founder CZ commented on a Trezor logistics vendor data breach, saying the exposure could create phishing, social engineering, and personal safety risks for affected customers.

Real-world asset activity and stablecoin policy both moved this week. As of Aug. 14, 2026, on-chain RWA market capitalization reached $38.29 billion, while the number of holders climbed to 1.7935 million, according to RWA.xyz data cited by PANews. In stablecoins, total market value slipped slightly to $297.91 billion, but transfer volume and monthly active addresses both fell, pointing to a quieter on-chain period even as holder counts kept growing. On the policy side, the People’s Bank of China said in its 15th Five-Year reform and development plan that it will steadily develop the digital yuan. In Europe, officials decided to revise the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, or MiCA, with a focus on the market access rules that have left non-EU stablecoin issuers such as Tether outside the bloc. The U.K. advanced the second phase of its digital pound lab and also began work on a regulatory framework for tokenized gold. At the project level, Anchorpoint, the Hong Kong licensed stablecoin issuer backed by Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands, launched the first phase of issuance and institutional use for HKDAP. HashKey Exchange and OSL joined as recognized distributors. Elsewhere, NYSE, Itaú Unibanco, Coinbase, LG CNS, Miden, Dow Protocol and Rain each disclosed new tokenization, stablecoin or funding developments during the week.

HashKey Holdings Limited said its licensed trading platform, HashKey Exchange, has completed Hong Kong’s first live transaction involving the regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP together with YF Life Insurance International. The test used real funds and covered both subscription and redemption of HKDAP, setting up a foundation for potential insurance payment use cases. According to the announcement, HashKey Exchange is one of the main approved distributors for HKDAP, which is issued by RD InnoTech Limited, described as one of Hong Kong’s first licensed stablecoin issuers. Subject to relevant regulatory requirements, YF Life plans to support customers paying premiums with HKDAP in the future and said it aims to become one of the first insurers in Hong Kong to do so. The companies said the validation focused on two areas: settlement speed and payment flexibility. Traditional premium payments usually require two to three business days for settlement confirmation, while HKDAP on-chain transfers can arrive almost in real time. Customers may also subscribe to HKDAP with Hong Kong dollars through HashKey Exchange or use existing HKDAP balances and withdraw them to a wallet before paying premiums.

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.

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.