The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is involved in two CBDC-related projects, called MBridge and e-HKD.
The central banks of Hong Kong, China, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, along with HKMA, are collaborating on a cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative called mBridge. This project is expected to launch around mid-2024 and could provide an alternative to Swift’s dominant payment infrastructure, potentially leading to further payment fragmentation in other regions.
mBridge is being coordinated under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and involves significant companies like Tencent, the owner of WeChat Pay and the WeChat app.
Additionally, HKMA is working on another CBDC-related project called e-HKD, which has various potential use cases, including programmable payments, tokenized deposits, and tokenized assets. Eddie Yue Wai-man, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, emphasized the versatility of e-HKD in these different areas.
HKMA is currently conducting trials involving 16 major businesses. In September, HSBC distributed eHKD to approximately 200 students and staff at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School to test the digital currency’s usability.
Among the pilot participants, Standard Chartered and Fubon Bank are exploring potential use cases for CBDCs. Fubon Bank has also announced its intention to collaborate with Ripple (XRP) on a pilot project involving real estate tokenization.
Important: Please note that this article is only meant to provide information and should not be taken as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other type of advice.
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