By the end of the year the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is planning to make a wholesale CBDC available for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits as part of Project EnsembleTX, enabling 24/7 payments. This was one of several plans announced by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in his 2026 policy address yesterday.
While single bank tokenized deposit solutions have proliferated, several jurisdictions are now working on interbank solutions, including Project EnsembleTX. The main complexity is that interbank solutions not only execute cross bank payments on behalf of clients but also settle between the banks. Hong Kong commenced a pilot phase of live transactions in late 2025, but initially the interbank settlement used the conventional RTGS system, which means settlement is only possible during the RTGS system’s operating hours. A wholesale CBDC can solve that issue.
Additionally, there are plans for the wholesale CBDC to be used for settlement by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) for after hours trading of derivatives, as previously announced. Real value transactions are also targeted for this year.
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Image Copyright: Hong Kong Legislative Council
