Hong Kong, Tuesday, September 24, 2024-The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched the second phase of its e-HKD pilot on Monday (September 23), focusing on tokenization, offline payments, and programmability.
Dubbed “Project e-HKD+,” this phase brings together 11 groups, including major financial players like Bank of China, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, Visa, and Mastercard.
The initiative aims to evaluate the commercial feasibility of tokenized assets and digital currency for interbank transfers, cross-border payments, and offline transactions. A sandbox environment will allow participants to test and refine various use cases.
Notably, Visa, ANZ, and Fidelity will examine how e-HKD can streamline international transactions, with plans to facilitate Australia-based corporate investments in tokenized funds managed in Hong Kong.
Additionally, Aptos Lab and Boston Consulting Group will explore the potential for settling tokenized funds on a public blockchain.
This phase builds on the first, which focused on domestic retail use cases, programmable payments, and tokenized asset settlements. The HKMA plans to release key findings from Phase 2 by the end of 2025.
The HKMA has been researching central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) since 2017 and intensified its focus on e-HKD in 2021.
