Anchorpoint Financial Limited has submitted a license application to the HKMA under the new regulatory framework for stablecoins.
Standard Chartered Hong Kong and Web3 solutions company Animoca Brands have officially established the joint venture Anchorpoint Financial Limited, aimed at developing and issuing a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar under the new regulatory framework of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. This move marks a significant step in the commercialization of digital assets in one of Asia's leading financial centers.
Anchorpoint Financial has officially notified the HKMA of its intention to apply for a stablecoin issuance license, complying with new regulations that require all organizations issuing fiat-pegged digital assets to have a license from the regulatory authority. Current companies will have a 6-month transition period during which operations will be closely monitored.
The collaboration between Standard Chartered and Animoca Brands began in February 2025, when they first announced plans to issue HKD stablecoin. Prior to that, both parties participated in the HKMA’s sandbox program for stablecoin issuers, allowing them to test and refine their business models in a regulated environment.
From the issuance of HKD stablecoin to the expansion into the tokenization of real assets
Alongside the establishment of the stablecoin joint venture, Animoca Brands also announced an expansion into the tokenization of real assets by launching the NUVA platform on Provenance Blockchain. This platform offers two products from Figure Technologies: YLDS – a yield-generating stablecoin approved by the U.S. SEC, and HELOC – a portfolio of high-quality home equity loans.
The new infrastructure applies a "vault" model – grouping tokenized products into separate secured asset pools – to simplify investor access and improve the liquidity of hard-to-trade assets. The goal is to consolidate distributed tokenized asset trading platforms and provide access channels for institutional investors.
The stablecoin market is rapidly growing due to greater clarity on the global legal framework. In the first half of 2025, the market capitalization of stablecoins increased by about 22%, while on-chain payments rose by 225% compared to the same period last year.
Max Krupyshev, CEO of CoinsPaid, remarked that businesses are increasingly viewing stablecoins as a convenient and transparent payment tool, providing "stability, flexibility in use, and easy integration." He added that about 86% of businesses see stablecoins as a solution for modernizing the traditional financial system.