Last week the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) unveiled EnsembleX, the next phase of Project Ensemble for tokenized deposits and tokenization. The pilot phase will run throughout 2026 with real money transactions, unlike the previous iteration which mainly involved simulations or experimental tokenized deposits. The use cases in focus are tokenized deposits and tokenized money market funds for real time treasury management. This will allow companies to move money 24/7 and to switch into yield bearing money market funds in real time when their funds are idle.
Seven banks will be involved in the tokenized deposit trials. They include the three Hong Kong note issuing banks, Bank of China (Hong Kong), HSBC and Standard Chartered. Several commercial firms are also participating in the pilots, including Ant Digital and Ant International, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and HKEX.
While many banks have launched internal tokenized deposit solutions, these only allows clients to move money between branches of the same bank. The key difference with EnsembleX is the ability to execute payments between banks. HSBC was the first to do so as part of EnsembleX, enabling its client Ant International to transfer HKD 3.8 million to another domestic bank.
Article continues …
Want the full story? Pro subscribers get complete articles, exclusive industry analysis, and early access to legislative updates that keep you ahead of the competition. Join the professionals who are choosing deeper insights over surface level news.
