Hong Kong Launches Real-Value Tokenised Deposit Pilot with Major Banks

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched EnsembleTX, a pilot program enabling real-value transactions involving tokenised deposits and digital assets, marking a shift from experimental testing to live implementation, the territory's central bank announced Wednesday.

The pilot builds on the Ensemble Sandbox, which since August 2024 has allowed financial institutions to test end-to-end use cases for settling digital asset transactions using experimental tokenised deposits. EnsembleTX now enables participating banks and industry partners to conduct actual transactions with commercial value in a controlled environment.

Seven banks will provide tokenised deposits to customers and settle interbank transactions through the platform: Bank of China (Hong Kong), China Construction Bank (Asia), Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), Fusion Bank, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), The Bank of East Asia, and HSBC Hong Kong.

The pilot also includes participation from asset managers BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, payment network JETCO, and fintech firms including Ant Digital Technologies and Ant International, among other industry pioneers.

Initial applications will focus on tokenised money market fund transactions using tokenised deposits, allowing market participants to manage liquidity and treasury operations in real time. The pilot aims to demonstrate faster, more transparent, and efficient settlement compared to traditional processes.

"EnsembleTX marks a pivotal moment in our journey, upgrading from proof-of-concept to a real-value setting," said HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue. "It is where innovation meets implementation, and the concepts and details tested in the Ensemble Sandbox are now applied in real-value transactions, delivering tangible benefits to market participants."

The program will operate throughout 2026, with interbank settlement initially facilitated through Hong Kong's existing Real Time Gross Settlement system for Hong Kong dollars. The HKMA plans to progressively upgrade the infrastructure to support settlement in tokenised central bank money on a 24/7 basis, enabling continuous operation beyond traditional banking hours.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), a key partner in the project, will collaborate with the HKMA to advance tokenisation applications across multiple asset classes and financial sectors.

"To scale tokenisation of investment products, interoperability is key," said Julia Leung, chief executive officer of the SFC. "A critical step in that direction is today's initiative announced by the HKMA which will gradually allow interbank settlement of tokenised deposits in real time 24/7."

The HKMA invited additional stakeholders with innovative use cases leveraging tokenised deposits to participate in the program as Hong Kong positions itself as a regional hub for digital finance infrastructure.