Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Animoca Brands, and Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) recently officially established a joint venture, Anchorpoint. The company submitted its application for a stablecoin issuer license to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on August 1, the day the Stablecoin Ordinance came into effect. This collaboration marks the deep integration of traditional financial institutions and Web3 companies in the development of Hong Kong's digital asset ecosystem. The three parties will jointly explore innovative applications of regulated stablecoins in the financial and payment markets.
Standard Chartered Hong Kong CEO Huen Wai-yee stated that Anchorpoint aims to create an innovative, efficient, and secure transaction medium for Hong Kong, strengthening Hong Kong's status as an international financial center by promoting the widespread adoption of digital assets. Animoca Brands President Ouyang Qijun emphasized that a regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin will become key infrastructure connecting Web3 and traditional finance, particularly in scenarios such as virtual asset trading in the gaming ecosystem and cross-border trade settlement. Notably, the three parties have participated in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's "Sandbox" program for stablecoin issuers since July 2024, accumulating extensive compliance experience.
In this collaboration, Standard Chartered Bank will provide banking infrastructure and a compliance framework, while Arbitrage Group will develop Web3 native application scenarios. HKT will leverage its retail channel strengths to promote user adoption. This complementary partnership is considered a significant milestone in Hong Kong's efforts to establish a closed-loop digital asset development cycle encompassing "regulatory sandbox, legislative development, and commercial implementation." With the official implementation of the Stablecoin Ordinance, Hong Kong becomes the first jurisdiction globally to establish a systematic regulatory framework for stablecoins, laying the legal foundation for the development of compliant stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar.
