Standard Chartered's HKDAP Stablecoin Enters Beta: What Accounting Firms and CFOs Must Assess Now

Hong Kong's stablecoin market just crossed a significant threshold. On 12 August 2026, Standard Chartered's subsidiary Anchorpoint unveiled the beta phase of HKDAP (HKD At Par), the first stablecoin issued under a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) stablecoin licence. For accounting firms and CFOs serving clients with Hong Kong operations, this is not a distant regulatory experiment: it is a live instrument, already distributed through licensed digital asset exchanges HashKey and OSL, with institutional and corporate access available now and retail access potentially following before year-end. The stablecoin accounting questions this raises, from balance-sheet classification to counterparty identification obligations, need answers before client exposure grows.

What Anchorpoint and HKDAP Actually Are

Anchorpoint is a Standard Chartered subsidiary, but its joint venture partners give it a distinctly web3 character. Animoca Brands, a prominent web3 investment and gaming firm, and Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) hold stakes alongside Standard Chartered. That combination matters for distribution: Animoca's consumer reach across gaming and NFT ecosystems, and HKT's retail telecommunications base, could translate HKDAP from an institutional instrument into a widely held consumer asset faster than a purely bank-led structure might.

The HKMA awarded the first two stablecoin licences to Anchorpoint and HSBC, making HKDAP one of only two regulated HKD-pegged stablecoins in existence. The beta phase is deliberately restricted: only institutions, corporate users, and professional investors can hold or transact HKDAP at this stage. Retail access is anticipated by the end of 2026, subject to the HKMA's satisfaction with how issuers demonstrate control over the compliance requirements described below.

Target Use Cases at Launch

Anchorpoint has identified two primary applications for the beta period. The first is cross-border payments, where a regulated HKD stablecoin can reduce settlement time and correspondent banking friction for transactions between Hong Kong and other jurisdictions. The second is tokenized securities settlement, an area the HKMA and Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission have been actively developing through various pilot programmes. Both use cases are firmly in institutional territory, which is consistent with the beta-phase access restrictions.

The HKMA Compliance Framework: A Higher Bar Than Most Jurisdictions

The single most operationally significant aspect of the HKMA's stablecoin regime is its holder-identification requirement. Under HKMA rules, every stablecoin holder must be identified, unless an issuer can demonstrate to the regulator's satisfaction that alternative risk-mitigating measures are equally effective. This is a materially stricter standard than most comparable regimes globally.

Why Universal Holder Identification Changes the Risk Profile

Most stablecoin frameworks, including the EU's MiCA regime and the frameworks being debated in the United States, focus compliance obligations on issuers and licensed intermediaries rather than on the full holder population. The HKMA's approach is closer in spirit to a securities register: the issuer, or its appointed distributor, is expected to know who holds the instrument at all times.

For the beta phase, this requirement is operationally manageable. Institutions, corporates, and professional investors are already subject to robust know-your-customer (KYC) processes at HashKey and OSL, both of which are licensed virtual asset trading platforms under the Securities and Futures Commission's framework. The KYC infrastructure that satisfies those exchange licences will largely satisfy the HKMA's holder-identification standard for the current phase.

The challenge arrives when retail access opens. Animoca Brands' Moca Network, a digital identity solution built on decentralised identity principles, has been flagged as a potential mechanism for scaling holder identification to a retail population. Whether the HKMA accepts Moca Network credentials as satisfying the identification standard, or requires additional controls, will be a critical regulatory question to monitor before year-end.

Stablecoin Accounting Treatment Under IFRS and HK GAAP

HKDAP is a fiat-referenced stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar. That peg, backed by regulated reserves and issued under an HKMA licence, makes it meaningfully different from algorithmic or crypto-collateralised stablecoins for accounting purposes. However, the absence of a completed IFRS standard specifically addressing stablecoins means firms must still apply judgement within existing frameworks.

Classification for Corporate Holders

Under IFRS 9, a corporate entity holding HKDAP will need to assess whether the instrument meets the solely payments of principal and interest (SPPI) test and whether it is held within a business model that qualifies for amortised cost or fair-value-through-other-comprehensive-income treatment. For a fully reserved, HKD-pegged stablecoin, there is a reasonable argument that the SPPI test is met: the holder expects to receive the face value of HKD on redemption, with no variable return linked to a reference asset or index. If the entity holds HKDAP purely for settlement or liquidity purposes, amortised cost classification is likely appropriate.

That said, the classification depends on the specific contractual terms of HKDAP, which Anchorpoint has not yet published in full. Accounting teams should obtain and review the token's legal terms, including redemption conditions, reserve composition, and any fee structures, before finalising the classification. Until those terms are reviewed, treating HKDAP as a financial asset measured at fair value through profit or loss is the conservative default, and in practice the valuation impact will be negligible given the HKD peg.

For the stablecoin accounting questions this raises across multiple jurisdictions, the stablecoin accounting questions raised by the CLARITY Act delay in the United States offer a useful parallel: regulatory uncertainty about the legal character of a stablecoin directly affects how auditors must approach classification.

Reserve Transparency and Audit Considerations

The HKMA's licensing regime requires stablecoin issuers to hold high-quality liquid assets as reserves, segregated from the issuer's own assets. For auditors signing off on either Anchorpoint's financial statements or those of a corporate client holding HKDAP, reserve transparency is a key audit consideration. Firms should expect to review the issuer's reserve attestation reports, comparable to the monthly reserve reports published by major USD stablecoin issuers, as part of their audit evidence for the fair value or amortised cost assertion.

Counterparty and AML Due Diligence for Accounting Firms

Accounting firms advising clients who intend to hold or transact HKDAP should conduct structured counterparty due diligence on both Anchorpoint and the distribution platforms before any client onboarding. The key areas to assess are set out below.

Due Diligence Checklist

For firms already tracking AML obligations across digital asset clients, the approaches developed in response to other jurisdictions, such as the travel rule expansions discussed in our coverage of how the Bank of Russia stablecoin trading proposal is reshaping digital asset accounting software needs, provide a useful reference framework, even if the specific rules differ.

Strategic Implications: What Changes When Retail Access Opens

The beta phase is a window. Accounting firms and CFOs have a defined period, likely measured in months rather than years, before HKDAP potentially becomes a retail instrument held by individual clients alongside their bank deposits. The implications of that shift are substantial.

First, the volume and diversity of HKDAP transactions in client portfolios will increase sharply. Digital asset accounting software will need to be configured to recognise HKDAP as a distinct asset class, apply the correct accounting policy, and generate the transaction-level data required for tax reporting under the Inland Revenue Department's existing guidance on digital asset disposals.

Second, the Animoca Brands joint venture structure introduces a distribution channel that reaches consumers through gaming and digital collectibles ecosystems. Clients in those sectors may acquire HKDAP as part of in-game or platform economies rather than through a traditional exchange, creating novel questions about the point of acquisition, the cost basis, and whether the receipt of HKDAP constitutes a taxable event under Hong Kong's source-based income tax system.

Third, if Animoca's Moca Network digital identity solution is accepted by the HKMA as a compliant identification mechanism, it could become the first large-scale deployment of decentralised identity within a regulated stablecoin framework. Accounting firms should monitor whether the HKMA publishes guidance on the evidentiary standard that Moca Network credentials must meet, as this will affect the AML documentation clients need to retain.

Immediate Action Points for CFOs and Accounting Firms

Given that the beta phase is live, the following steps are relevant now rather than on a watch-and-wait basis.

Review your existing digital asset accounting policy to determine whether it covers fiat-referenced stablecoins issued under a local regulatory licence. Many policies were written with reference to USD stablecoins or to crypto assets with no fiat peg; HKDAP may not fit neatly into either bucket.

Engage your crypto accounting software provider to confirm that HKDAP can be ingested, categorised, and reported correctly. The asset will have an on-chain identifier, and the software must be able to match that identifier to the correct accounting policy and tax treatment.

For clients who are institutional or corporate users and who intend to hold HKDAP during the beta phase, initiate a formal accounting policy memo now, covering classification, measurement, and disclosure requirements under IFRS or HK GAAP as applicable.

Monitor the HKMA's public register for updates to Anchorpoint's licence conditions, particularly any conditions relating to the holder-identification requirement and the potential use of decentralised identity solutions for retail access.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HKDAP the same as a central bank digital currency?

No. HKDAP is a privately issued, regulated stablecoin. It is pegged to the Hong Kong dollar and issued by Anchorpoint under an HKMA stablecoin licence, but it is not a liability of the HKMA or the Hong Kong government. The distinction matters for accounting: a CBDC would typically be treated as cash or a cash equivalent, while a privately issued stablecoin requires classification analysis under IFRS 9 or the applicable local GAAP.

How should HKDAP be classified on a corporate balance sheet under IFRS?

In most cases, a corporate holding HKDAP for settlement or liquidity purposes is likely to classify it as a financial asset under IFRS 9. Given the HKD peg and the regulatory reserve requirement, an amortised cost classification may be supportable, but this depends on the contractual terms of the specific token. Firms should review those terms before finalising the accounting policy and document the judgement clearly in their working papers.

Does holding HKDAP trigger a taxable event under Hong Kong law?

Hong Kong operates a source-based income tax system with no capital gains tax. Receiving HKDAP in exchange for goods or services provided in Hong Kong would generally be treated as trading income at the HKD equivalent value on receipt. A corporate holding HKDAP as a treasury asset and redeeming it at par would not typically generate a taxable gain given the stable value, though the specific facts and the entity's tax position should be confirmed with a Hong Kong tax adviser.

Who is responsible for satisfying the HKMA's holder-identification requirement?

The primary regulatory obligation sits with the licensed stablecoin issuer, Anchorpoint. However, Anchorpoint operates a B2B2C distribution model, meaning it relies on its distributors, currently HashKey and OSL, to conduct KYC on end users. Accounting firms advising corporate clients should confirm with the relevant distributor which KYC documents are required and how compliance records are maintained, as these records may be relevant to an audit or regulatory examination.

What should accounting firms do if their crypto accounting software does not yet support HKDAP?

Firms should raise a formal support request with their digital asset accounting software provider, specifying the on-chain token identifier for HKDAP and the required accounting policy mapping. In the interim, manual journal entries with detailed working papers are acceptable, provided the cost basis and transaction date are recorded accurately. Given that the beta phase is limited to institutional and professional investors, volumes are unlikely to be unmanageable in the short term.

Source: Ledger Insights