Crypto World
Anchorpoint names HashKey as distributor for Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP
Anchorpoint Financial has appointed HashKey Exchange as an authorized distributor for its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin HKDAP, giving eligible institutions and professional investors access to minting, redemption, and fiat conversion during the token’s beta rollout.
Summary
- HashKey has joined HKDAP Beta Access as an authorized distribution partner.
- Eligible institutions and professional investors can access HKDAP through HashKey and supported channels.
- HashKey has completed its first HKDAP minting and redemption transaction with eligible clients.
- Anchorpoint plans to test HKDAP in payments, settlement, and tokenized finance.
HashKey opens HKDAP access to eligible investors
According to an Aug. 12 announcement from HashKey Exchange and Anchorpoint Financial, HashKey will support the distribution, trading, and related services for HKDAP as one of the stablecoin’s authorized distributors.
Access remains limited during the beta stage. Eligible institutions and professional investors can obtain the token through HashKey’s app and other supported channels, while retail customers have not yet been included in the rollout.
HashKey has also processed its first HKDAP minting and redemption transaction with eligible clients. The completed transaction covered the conversion of fiat currency into HKDAP and the redemption of the stablecoin back into fiat, providing an initial test of the token’s on- and off-ramp process.
Authorized distributors serve as an operational link between Anchorpoint, which issues HKDAP, and approved customers seeking to use or redeem it. Under the distribution model, HashKey can use its existing institutional network and licensed exchange infrastructure instead of Anchorpoint serving every client directly.
Haiyang Ru, CEO of HashKey Exchange, said the platform would connect the issuer with financial institutions and market participants while providing “compliant, secure, and convenient market access and circulation support for HKDAP.”
As demand and operational capacity develop, both companies plan to introduce other access channels. Their announcement identified cross-border payments, settlement services, and tokenized finance as areas where HKDAP could be tested.
HKDAP rollout follows Anchorpoint’s phased launch
HKDAP, short for HKD At Par, is designed as tokenized Hong Kong dollar money for financial and commercial transactions. Anchorpoint describes the stablecoin as a payment and settlement instrument rather than a token created primarily for speculative trading.
Anchorpoint began the first stage of the HKDAP rollout with access limited to institutional distributors, corporate users, and professional investors. Dominic Maffei, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said its immediate focus was on commercial applications involving “regulated tokenised money in real-world settings, including payments and settlement use cases.”
The issuer is using a business-to-business-to-consumer structure under which distributors and application partners connect HKDAP with potential users. Reuters reported on Aug. 12 that Anchorpoint could extend access to retail customers by the end of 2026, depending on market conditions.
HashKey’s appointment follows months of technical and regulatory preparation. On Aug. 3, crypto.news reported on Anchorpoint’s rollout after the project moved past its earlier second-quarter and end-of-July schedules.
During those preparations, Anchorpoint worked with OSL Group and PantherTrade on an Ethereum mainnet test in May. The trial covered fiat funding, issuance, transfer, and redemption, testing a complete transaction cycle on public blockchain infrastructure.
OSL has also been identified as an authorized HKDAP distributor, according to separate company announcements. The use of multiple distributors gives approved institutions more than one channel for minting and redeeming the stablecoin during its controlled release.
Anchorpoint was created by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), telecommunications company HKT, and Web3 investment firm Animoca Brands. The three companies established the joint venture in February 2025 after taking part in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s stablecoin issuer sandbox.
Standard Chartered contributes banking and payment infrastructure to the project, while HKT brings telecommunications and mobile-payment experience. Animoca provides digital-asset and Web3 expertise, including potential links to tokenized assets and blockchain applications.
Hong Kong stablecoin rules govern HKDAP distribution
Anchorpoint received one of Hong Kong’s first stablecoin issuer licenses from the HKMA in April 2026, alongside HSBC. The approvals allowed both companies to issue fiat-referenced stablecoins under the Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect on Aug. 1, 2025.
As previously covered by crypto.news, Hong Kong officials expected the first licensed tokens to enter circulation between the middle and second half of 2026. The timetable depended on each issuer’s business plan and readiness to meet continuing regulatory requirements.
Under the city’s framework, an issuer must obtain HKMA authorization to issue a covered stablecoin in Hong Kong or a token tied to the Hong Kong dollar outside the territory. The regulator also requires licensed issuers to maintain eligible reserve assets, process redemptions at par, and operate risk-management, governance and anti-money laundering controls.
HKDAP is intended to maintain a one-to-one value against the Hong Kong dollar using liquid Hong Kong dollar-denominated reserve assets. Anchorpoint has said those reserves will be held separately in line with the requirements applied to licensed fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers.
Only stablecoins issued by licensed firms can be offered to retail customers in Hong Kong under the ordinance. Authorized institutions, licensed virtual-asset trading platforms, and other approved entities may offer covered tokens, subject to the applicable distribution rules.
Hong Kong authorities have already warned users to distinguish official HKDAP channels from unauthorized tokens. In April, the HKMA said counterfeit assets using the names of HSBC and HKDAP had appeared before either licensed issuer began circulation.
Anchorpoint responded by asking users to rely on verified sources and regulated acquisition channels. The earlier counterfeit token warning also noted that the regulator can investigate misconduct, impose fines, suspend operations, or revoke an issuer’s license for regulatory failures.
HashKey’s authorized status gives approved users an identified channel for accessing HKDAP during the beta stage. The companies have not disclosed the stablecoin’s current circulation, the value of HashKey’s first transaction, or the number of clients admitted to the program.
U.S. rules limit automatic access to foreign stablecoins
HKDAP’s Hong Kong license does not automatically authorize its sale or distribution in the United States. American access would depend on whether Anchorpoint and any participating platform meet the requirements governing foreign-issued payment stablecoins under U.S. law.
The GENIUS Act created a federal framework for payment stablecoins in July 2025. According to an April 2026 U.S. Treasury proposal, permitted payment stablecoin issuers must meet Bank Secrecy Act obligations and maintain effective anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs.
Federal implementation materials also state that foreign payment stablecoin issuers may offer tokens in the United States only when they satisfy the law’s applicable conditions. Anchorpoint and HashKey have not announced U.S. distribution for HKDAP, and the beta program described in their statement covers eligible investors using supported channels.
Dollar-linked tokens continue to control most of the global stablecoin market, leaving Hong Kong dollar products with a much smaller starting base. Reliable public figures for licensed HKD stablecoin circulation remain limited because the first products have only entered their initial distribution phases.
Citi estimated in a 2025 report that stablecoins circulating through Hong Kong platforms could eventually reach about $16 billion, or HK$124.8 billion, although the bank attached a range of roughly $8 billion around its estimate. The projection was based partly on the experience of payment institutions in mainland China rather than established HKDAP circulation data.
Meanwhile, Bernstein reported that adjusted transaction volume for Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC reached about $3.8 trillion during the first quarter of 2026, illustrating the transaction base already held by the two leading U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins.
After shifting its focus to rebuilding its USD stash and reinstating investors’ belief in STRC, Strategy’s CEO, Phong Le, explained that the firm plans to resume its BTC purchases by the end of the year.
As reported by Wu Blockchain, the exec noted that the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin remains a massive net buyer of the cryptocurrency, as it has purchased around 175,000 since the year started and has disposed of roughly 7,000. This means that the firm is still a 25x net buyer despite halting its purchases in late June.
Le also explained that the company has used the proceeds from its recent sale to support its preferred stock dividends, share repurchases, and the USD reserve, which is now well over $4.6 billion after the latest sale.
Meanwhile, the controversial STRC share has rebounded swiftly from the $75 lows. Nevertheless, it remains below its par price of $100 as it closed on Tuesday at just over $95.
Strategy’s CEO recently stirred additional controversy within the crypto community by admitting that the firm has turned its complete attention to pushing STRC to the par price. Numerous analysts and commentators questioned the statement, as it was just until a few months ago when the company swore its primary objective was to increase Bitcoin per share.
The post When Will Strategy Buy Bitcoin Again? CEO Phong Le Has the Answer appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and the U.K. also use both electronic travel records and biometric checks at passport control.
But the EES is unusual in its scale. The system shares its records across 29 European countries. A traveler who enters through France and leaves through Italy, for example, has both movements recorded in one system.
What’s with the hold up?
Despite its goal of making border control more efficient, the initial rollout of the new system has led to delays at a number of European airports.
Days after the full implementation of the EES in April, airport lobby ACI Europe told Politico that queues at airports in 15 countries averaged two to three hours or longer during peak periods. As travel to Europe has increased over the summer months, travelers have seen persistent and at times worsened delays in many of the most heavily touristed countries. In an open letter published July 1, ACI Europe and two other associations said waiting times reached five hours during peak periods. Some airlines and passengers have even reported missed flights as a result of EES delays.
“I believe that in the state of New York, if you have a $5 million second home, then you should be able to afford to pay for police and fire and trash removal and snow removal in the wintertime,” Hochul told local media Tuesday. “Donald Trump ought to focus on all the pain he’s causing New Yorkers and knock it off and don’t worry about us.”
What is New York’s pied-à-terre tax?
In line with Mamdani’s promise to “tax the rich,” New York City implemented a pied-à-terre tax, a yearly levy on high-value residential properties that are not one’s primary residence. Hochul signed the legislation containing it on May 28, and it became effective beginning July 1.
New York authorities say the tax is expected to generate at least $500 million a year in revenue, which would help close the city’s $12 billion budget gap over fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
For two fiscal years starting in July 2026, the levy may apply to one-, two-, and three-family homes valued by the city’s finance department at $5 million or greater, as well as condominium and cooperative units valued at $1 million or more. For covered family homes, the levy rate starts at 0.8% of the market value and goes up to 1.3% for properties exceeding $25 million. As for covered condos and co-ops, the surcharge starts at 4% and reaches up to 6.5% for properties valued at $5 million or more.
The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab is running a trade-finance experiment designed to test whether stablecoins and a potential digital British pound could work together inside the same cross-border payment flow.
In a project announced on Wednesday, NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs said the trial links an exporter’s advance delivered via a stablecoin rail with a UK importer’s settlement using simulated digital pounds. The focus is on the practical mechanics of payments timing—particularly the point at which trade finance is released and how long settlement takes.
Key takeaways
- The Digital Pound Lab trial pairs a stablecoin payment to an exporter with simulated digital pound settlement by a UK importer in a single cross-border workflow.
- NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs are combining payments testing with a separate effort to generate reusable credit profiles for small businesses.
- The project is explicitly using simulated systems: the Bank of England has not committed to issuing a digital pound and the lab uses no real customers or money.
- The work targets a long-standing trade finance problem where exporters may wait days after shipment to receive payment, tying up working capital.
- The broader initiative aligns with ongoing UK regulatory development for stablecoins and tokenized settlement models.
Trade finance, simulated digital pounds, and stablecoin rails
The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab experiment is centered on trade finance—an area where cash flow can be constrained by settlement delays between shipping goods and receiving payment. According to the announcement from NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs, the test scenario involves an exporter receiving an advance through a stablecoin-based payment flow while a UK importer completes settlement using simulated digital pounds.
The companies did not describe the trial as a live market product; instead, it is positioned as an experiment within the lab’s research environment. The Bank of England has also emphasized that lab experiments designed by participants should not be treated as signals about future policy or as endorsements of any specific firm or technology.
For exporters—especially smaller businesses—payment timing can determine how much working capital is locked up. When funds arrive days after shipment, firms can face higher financing costs or reduced ability to take on new orders. By testing whether different digital payment components can operate in the same cross-border route, the lab project aims to assess whether tokenized settlement could reduce friction that slows trade.
Reusable credit profiles for small businesses
Beyond payments plumbing, the initiative includes a separate workstream aimed at helping small businesses access credit more efficiently. The plan, as described by the participating companies, is to create reusable credit profiles by combining transaction data, open-finance information and commercial risk data from Dun & Bradstreet.
Polygon Labs is providing the smart contract infrastructure for this part of the project. The practical idea is straightforward: instead of rebuilding risk assessments from scratch for each transaction, the system would attempt to turn available data into a standardized credit profile that could be reused in future trade finance arrangements.
If that approach works as intended, it could reduce the operational cost and time involved in underwriting and credit checks—an issue that often weighs more heavily on smaller firms than on larger counterparties with more established financing relationships.
Why this matters amid UK stablecoin and tokenization rulemaking
The trade-focused lab experiment lands as UK authorities continue building the regulatory structure for stablecoins and preparing the financial system for tokenized assets. In June, the Bank of England published draft rules for sterling-denominated stablecoins it considers systemic to the UK’s financial stability.
That proposal, according to the Bank of England, would allow systemic stablecoin issuers to hold up to 70% of their reserves in interest-bearing government debt. It also introduces a temporary issuance cap of 40 billion pounds (about $52.8 billion) per systemic stablecoin, replacing earlier suggestions that would have limited holdings at the level of individual participants and businesses. The Bank of England has said it aims to finalize those rules by the end of 2026, ahead of a planned 2027 rollout.
Under the framework, stablecoins deemed systemic—because their use could pose risks significant enough to affect financial stability—would fall under the Bank of England’s regime. Non-systemic stablecoins would remain under the Financial Conduct Authority’s oversight.
Meanwhile, tokenization is also being tested through updates to legacy settlement infrastructure. In May, the Bank of England proposed moving its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and CHAPS systems toward near-24/7 operation, including weekends and extended daily hours, partly to support cross-border payments and new settlement models as tokenization develops.
Additionally, the Bank of England approved HSBC’s Orion platform to operate in the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox. That sandbox is expected to support digital bond issuance, including the country’s planned Digital Gilt Instrument—another sign that regulators are exploring how tokenized assets might integrate with existing market infrastructure.
What to watch next in the Digital Pound Lab
Because the Digital Pound Lab trial uses no real money or customers and the central bank has not committed to issuing a digital pound, the near-term value for market participants is primarily methodological: seeing whether a stablecoin rail and a simulated digital pound can coordinate inside a realistic cross-border trade workflow. The next step is whether the lab’s findings inform practical designs for interoperability, settlement timing, and how credit and compliance data could be translated into reusable structures for small businesses.
Novo Nordisk’s stock keeps falling even when the news is good, and CEO Mike Doustdar just admitted why. Eli Lilly is beating Novo at its own game.
Doustdar sat down with CNBC’s Jim Cramer this week to explain the disconnect. Novo, famous for its GLP-1 medication Ozempic, raised its full-year sales guidance on August 4, narrowing its projected annual decline from 8% to 3% at the midpoint. Investors sold anyway. NVO shares dropped roughly 6% that day.
A Beat That Still Lost
Doustdar walked through the math on air. Novo slashed prices on Ozempic and Wegovy last year to widen patient access, and volume hasn’t caught up yet to offset those cuts. He compared it to basic arithmetic. Halving a price means you need double the volume just to break even, and volume never doubles on day one.
That gap between falling average revenue per prescription and rising patient counts is exactly what has investors nervous. Novo’s obesity and diabetes drugs now make up around 90% of its business, compared to about 60% at Eli Lilly, leaving Novo more exposed to any pricing or competitive shock in that single category.
Doustdar’s Concession
Oral Wegovy sits at the center of this story. Novo launched the pill version of its weight-loss drug in January, and it quickly became one of the fastest-selling drugs in pharmaceutical history. Doctors have already written more than 5 million prescriptions for it, and 1.5 million patients now take it worldwide. That volume makes Novo’s stock reaction even harder to explain on the surface.
Cramer pressed him on why Eli Lilly’s stock rally has outrun Novo’s despite a less dominant pill. Doustdar didn’t dodge the question.
“Eli Lilly has been gaining market share. And they’re more diversified than Novo Nordisk… there is no secret that Lilly has been quite successful actually in having volume uptake and market share uptake above and beyond Novo.”
He argued Lilly’s ad campaign leans on an older, lower-dose version of Wegovy for comparison. Novo’s newer high-dose formulation matches Lilly’s efficacy, according to Doustdar. That dispute sits at the center of Novo’s lawsuit against Lilly over its advertising claims.
The Pill Still Wins on Paper
The stock slump hasn’t slowed the pill’s numbers. In Novo’s own trials, the pill cuts weight by 17%, against 12% for Lilly’s rival pill, though the two drugs haven’t faced off head-to-head. Doustdar called it the best product launch in pharmaceutical history, a claim that’s hard to dispute on volume alone.
Doustdar is betting that two straight quarters of improving trends will eventually pull the stock along with them. Whether that bet pays off depends on a simple race. Patient volume needs to outrun the price cuts fast enough to convince Wall Street the reset is actually over.
The post Novo Nordisk CEO Concedes Eli Lilly’s Market-Share Gains as Stock Slumps appeared first on BeInCrypto.
“In order to qualify for this care, a young person has to be experiencing very severe, prolonged distress,” Minter says. “I think maybe some people have the misconception that this care is being provided to kids just who are gender nonconforming or who are just identifying as transgender, but that is not the case.”
The number of people who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for gender-affirming care is not publicly available, but in 2023 the spending from both programs on those services totaled $31 million.
Why the new Medicaid rule is contested
Trump wrote about the ruling on social media Tuesday, saying that he directed CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to enact the new restrictions.
“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” the post said.
Oz said in a press release that the rule will protect children and is “following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish.” TIME has reached out to the CMS for additional comment.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is advancing an “innovation exemption” for tokenized listed securities that Chair Paul Atkins says would give market participants a cabined framework to begin facilitating compliant onchain trading while the Commission develops long-term rules. Bloomberg… Read the full story at The Defiant
An unknown crypto whale lost $25.6 million after an attacker drained their wallet. The hacker swapped the stolen assets into Dai (DAI) and Ethereum (ETH), onchain analyst Specter reported.
The same wallet lost $24.2 million to a phishing attack in September 2023. Afterward, the attacker returned roughly 90% of the funds.
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Attacker Drains aWBTC, DAI, and WBTC From Whale Wallet
Blockchain security firm PeckShield detailed the largest holdings taken. This included $6.3 million in aWBTC. DAI losses totaled $5.1 million, while direct Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) holdings totaled $4.7 million.
Roughly $2.6 million in ETH also left the wallet. Smaller balances of cbBTC, USDS, Lido DAO (LDO), and Curve DAO (CRV) went the same way.
The attacker converted the proceeds into 20 million DAI and 3,000 ETH. The stolen funds now sit across four addresses.
Whale Fell Victim to a $24.24 Million Phishing Attack in 2023
The victim has a costly history. PeckShield reported in September 2023 that the same whale lost $24.2 million to phishing, including about 4,851 rETH and 9,579.2 stETH.
That phisher swapped the tokens for roughly 13,785 ETH and 1.64 million DAI. These two incidents have now cost the address almost $50 million combined.
The theft lands during a busy month for crypto security. DefiLlama has separately logged 13 hacks in August, with tracked losses above $12 million.
Payment processor Coinsbuy accounted for the bulk of that figure after losing $7.9 million on August 9. Whether this attacker follows the 2023 precedent and returns the funds will likely determine how much the victim recovers.
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The post Crypto Whale Loses $25.6 Million 2 Years After $24 Million Phishing Attack appeared first on BeInCrypto.
An Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) shareholder plans to seek Federal Court permission to sue certain former ASX officers and directors over alleged breaches of duty connected to its failed blockchain-based clearing and settlement overhaul.
On Wednesday, ASX said Rosherville Pty Ltd had notified the exchange that it proposes to apply for leave to commence a statutory derivative action under sections 236 and 237 of Australia’s Corporations Act. If approved, Rosherville would bring the proceedings on ASX’s behalf.
The exchange said there were no allegations against ASX itself. It did not identify the former officials targeted, describe their alleged breaches in detail or disclose the remedies Rosherville intends to seek, while the court has not considered whether the proposed case can proceed.
The proposed lawsuit could test whether shareholders can hold former ASX leaders accountable for overseeing one of Australia’s costliest financial-technology failures.
Failed CHESS overhaul draws regulatory action
ASX began exploring a replacement for its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or CHESS, in 2016 and selected a distributed-ledger system developed with New York-based Digital Asset. In December 2017, ASX was expected to become the first securities exchange to use blockchain for its core services.
The intended launch was repeatedly postponed. In November 2022, ASX paused the project after an Accenture review found significant problems with its design and ability to meet the exchange’s requirements. In May 2023, ASX had formally abandoned blockchain for the replacement and would consider more conventional technology.
Related: Australia orders Cryptolink Bitcoin ATMs offline over ‘basic reporting’ failures
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) sued ASX in August 2024, alleging it lacked a reasonable basis for telling the market in February 2022 that the project was “progressing well” and on track for an April 2023 launch. At the time, ASIC called the episode a collective failure by ASX’s board and senior executives.
In June 2026, ASX admitted to misleading conduct linked to the blockchain replacement project. On July 3, the Federal Court ordered the company to pay a $14.4 million penalty and $2.1 million toward ASIC’s costs, closing the regulator’s case weeks before Rosherville notified the exchange of its proposed action against former officials.
Magazine: Inside the fake crypto startup that fooled North Korean IT workers
Solana came within roughly 4.5 percentage points of losing transaction finality early Wednesday, when 28.83% of staked SOL went delinquent, according to staking protocol Marinade Finance. Marinade said the episode affected 90 validators and cost them a combined 333 SOL in rewards. The reported… Read the full story at The Defiant
‘NEGLIGENCE’: Ripple CEO BLASTS Jamie Dimon for crypto HYPOCRISY
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