Hong Kong’s launch of wCBDC sandbox takes it closer to tokenised market
Six participants, including HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong), showcased test cases that will be explored to boost scale and interoperability
Hong Kong’s de facto central bank on Wednesday launched a sandbox for wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC), with six participants showcasing projects to bring the city closer to using tokenised money to support digital asset transactions.
The launch comes five months after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Project Ensemble, a pilot to facilitate seamless interbank settlement of tokenised money via wCBDC. This was followed by the setting up of an architecture community in May that led to the launch of the sandbox.
The sandbox involves 25 participants in the first round of experiment. They include note-issuing banks HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank, fintech provider Ant Group and cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Group. The six members also announced their use cases that will be further tested to achieve scalability and interoperability.
Other participants include international financial institutions such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton and local firms like Hong Kong and China Gas Company, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Cyberport and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
“Tokenisation has the potential to make financial transactions much more efficient, transparent and less costly,” Eddie Yue Wai-man, CEO of HKMA, said at the launch ceremony. It has the potential to be a part of the future of finance, he added.
The sandbox will test a new financial market infrastructure that facilitates the four stages of a tokenised asset transaction: creation, trading, payment and settlement using tokenised bank deposits and final interbank settlement through the CBDC issued by HKMA, Yue said.
