Hong Kong Pushes Tokenized Deposits Toward Real-World Use

A real-money transfer of HK$3.8 million (US$488,000) between HSBC and Standard Chartered in November has pushed Hong Kong into the global spotlight for regulated digital money.

The funds moved not through traditional rails but via tokenized deposits — digital representations of bank liabilities recorded on a blockchain.

Project Ensemble, launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to build a tokenized ecosystem, entered its pilot phase the same month. Seven banks now offer tokenized deposit services, marking Hong Kong’s transition from proof-of-concept — essentially a controlled testing stage — to real transactions.