HashKey Exchange has joined the controlled distribution of HKDAP, Anchorpoint Financial’s regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, giving eligible institutions and professional investors a new route to mint, redeem and convert the token during its beta rollout.
HashKey said it completed an initial HKDAP minting and redemption transaction with eligible clients, including fiat on- and off-ramping. Anchorpoint is introducing the token through selected distributors rather than opening it immediately to unrestricted retail access.
The development moves HKDAP beyond testing and into limited distribution. It does not amount to a broad public launch, nor does it establish commercial payment volume. The parties have described cross-border payments, settlement and tokenized finance as areas they plan to develop, but have not disclosed corridors, fees, transaction limits or a timetable for wider availability.
A licensed issuer meets a licensed distribution channel
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s public register lists Anchorpoint Financial as a licensed stablecoin issuer under the Stablecoins Ordinance, with licence number FRS01 effective from April 10, 2026. The register also lists HSBC as the other licensed issuer.
Anchorpoint is a joint venture backed by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT and Animoca Brands. HKDAP, short for “HKD At Par,” is designed to maintain one-to-one value with the Hong Kong dollar. The issuer has said the token will be backed by eligible Hong Kong dollar reserve assets in line with the city’s stablecoin requirements.
For payment firms, using an authorized distributor creates a defined access point between bank money and the onchain asset. The practical value will depend on how the distributor handles onboarding, fiat funding, redemption and compliance for each eligible client. A licensed issuer does not remove the need for transaction monitoring, customer controls or clear allocation of operational responsibility at the distribution layer.
Why redemption matters as much as minting
The first reported transaction covered both creation and redemption of HKDAP. That full cycle is operationally important: a stablecoin used for payments must not only move onchain but also provide a reliable route back to bank money.
In an earlier test, Anchorpoint and partners examined the process from fiat funding and reserve handling through token issuance, onchain transfer and redemption. The new HashKey arrangement adds a client-facing distribution channel to that model. It remains a beta service for a restricted audience, so evidence about processing capacity, settlement times and service resilience is not yet public.
Payments and treasury teams considering the token will need details beyond the existence of the distribution agreement. Those include supported networks, cutoff and availability windows for fiat conversion, redemption terms, custody arrangements, fees and procedures during blockchain or banking outages. The August announcements did not provide those operating terms.
Hong Kong’s stablecoin market enters an execution phase
Hong Kong’s licensing framework has shifted the market from applications and sandbox work toward regulated issuance. HKDAP’s phased rollout provides an early test of how the city’s regime operates when a licensed issuer relies on exchanges and other partners to distribute a fiat-referenced token.
The near-term measure of progress will not be speculative market size. It will be whether participating institutions can move between Hong Kong dollar deposits and HKDAP with predictable compliance, redemption and reconciliation processes. HashKey’s first completed mint-and-redeem cycle is an initial operational milestone, but broader payment adoption will require repeatable service and disclosed commercial use cases.