The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) has introduced the launch of the second section of its central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) pilot program, often known as e-HKD, based on a Sept. 23 assertion.
The second section will delve into superior use instances for digital cash, emphasizing e-HKD and tokenized deposits for people and companies. The primary section centered on testing CBDC functions in home retail funds, offline transactions, and the settlement of tokenized property.
The HKMA said that the initiative has advanced from its authentic e-HKD focus and is now rebranded as Undertaking e-HKD+ to align with the altering fintech panorama.
e-HKD Purposes
The HKMA has engaged 11 corporations from varied sectors to research e-HKD functions in three principal areas, together with tokenized asset settlement, programmability, and offline funds.
A few of the contributors reportedly concerned in section 2 embody ANZ, Airstar Financial institution, Aptos Labs, BlackRock, Financial institution of Communications (Hong Kong), ChinaAMC, China Cell, DBS, Constancy Worldwide, Kasikornbank, and Sanfield.
The HKMA said that these corporations will consider the industrial viability of latest digital cash kinds inside real-world settings, aiming to boost accessibility for people and companies.
The outcomes of Section 2 will present insights into the sensible challenges of making a digital cash ecosystem that integrates each publicly and privately issued digital currencies. Undertaking e-HKD+ will additional develop the mandatory expertise and authorized framework to help potential future issuance of e-HKD for each people and companies.
To foster collaboration, the HKMA will set up the e-HKD Trade Discussion board. This platform will allow taking part establishments to debate widespread challenges and discover the scalable implementation of latest digital cash kinds. Trade-led working teams will deal with particular matters, initially specializing in programmability.
Much like Section 1, an e-HKD sandbox shall be obtainable for pilot contributors to facilitate prototyping, improvement, and testing of use instances. Throughout Section 2, the HKMA will collaborate carefully with the chosen corporations over the following 12 months to share key findings with the general public by the tip of subsequent yr.
HKMA chief govt Eddie Yue said:
“Undertaking e-HKD+ signifies the HKMA’s dedication to digital cash innovation. The e-HKD Pilot Programme has offered a helpful alternative for the HKMA to discover with the business how new types of digital cash can add distinctive worth to most people. The HKMA will proceed to undertake a use-case pushed strategy in its exploration of digital cash.”
