The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has started phase 2 of the e-HKD pilot program. The project’s scope has expanded from a focus on retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) to encompass tokenized deposits, so there’s a re-name to e-HKD+.
Eleven groups of firms are exploring use cases, including the settlement of tokenized assets, programmability and offline payments. As part of the project, the firms will explore the commercial viability of potentially making available these new forms of digital money to individuals and corporates. Both technical and legal aspects will be explored.
While the HKMA didn’t mention Project Ensemble in the announcement, it is also exploring tokenized deposits where a wholesale CBDC is used for interbank settlement and institutional settlement of tokenized assets. By contrast, the e-HKD focus is on settlement for corporates and individuals.
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