Tokenized deposits still need a way for banks to settle with each other
Hong Kong’s Project Ensemble began by examining the money needed to settle transactions involving tokenized commercial-bank deposits.
From the archive · 7 Mar 2024
A retrospective written for Chain Perspective. It describes the source at that date and does not imply current availability or status.
Reported development: · AI-assisted, source-linked brief
In brief
- The project initially focused on tokenized commercial-bank deposits.
- A wholesale CBDC sandbox was planned for settlement experiments.
The development
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched Project Ensemble in March 2024 to study wholesale central bank digital currency as settlement infrastructure. Its initial focus was tokenized deposits, representing money issued by commercial banks. A planned sandbox would explore settlement of tokenized assets, with examples including green bonds, carbon credits and electronic bills of lading. The authority also planned an industry group to work on architecture.
Why it matters
Putting an asset on a ledger does not by itself answer how its payment becomes final between banks. Ensemble addressed that connection between the asset and settlement money. It is useful for understanding why tokenization projects discuss both commercial-bank deposits and central-bank money. The launch set out research and testing plans; it was not an announcement that all those asset markets had become operational on a new public payment network.
Sources and verification
Based on an official announcement
Based on the dated primary source. This retrospective does not establish current availability or subsequent outcomes.
- HKMA unveils Project Ensemble to support development of Hong Kong tokenisation market ↗Hong Kong Monetary Authority · Primary document · 7 Mar 2024
Prepared with AI assistance from the linked sources. This is not a claim of independent field reporting or human review. How we publish · Report a correction
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