ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media Xinbao, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, BlackRock, and Mastercard will join hands to participate in the second phase pilot program of the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" launched by the Monetary Authority. The newly formed tripartite alliance will explore tokenized investment use cases in an end-to-end manner. This potential solution will allow investors to purchase tokenized assets and conduct transaction settlements directly through the digital Hong Kong dollar or tokenized deposits with relevant asset managers.Libeara, nurtured by SC Ventures under Standard Chartered Group, will collaborate with Standard Chartered Hong Kong and BlackRock to provide a platform, jointly promoting the potential issuance of tokenized assets through Mastercard's multi-token network.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) official website, the HKMA today launched the second phase of the "e-HKD" pilot scheme, further exploring new types of digital currencies that individuals and businesses can use, including "e-HKD" and tokenized deposits. The project name has been changed to "e-HKD+" to reflect a broader exploration of the digital currency ecosystem. 11 selected institutions will conduct innovative use case studies in three major areas: tokenized asset settlement, programmability, and offline payments. This phase of research will help the HKMA understand the design and operational issues that may arise in a digital currency ecosystem where public and private coexist.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Legislative Council member Yan Gang stated in an interview that the development of the digital Hong Kong dollar should be accelerated, financial products enriched, and market influence enhanced. Digital currency adapts to the digitalization of finance and has the potential to lead innovation in the fintech sector. By establishing more efficient payment and financial infrastructure, digital currency can improve the efficiency and convenience of the financial industry. Developing digital currency in Hong Kong can also attract more fintech and blockchain-related companies to develop in Hong Kong, further promoting the city as an innovation center for fintech and enhancing the innovative technological content of the international financial center, thereby elevating its status as an international financial hub. It is recommended that the government learn from the experience of the mainland, collaborate deeply with relevant mainland units, accelerate the process of the digital Hong Kong dollar, and actively research the promotion of the digital currency economy.

According to ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's official website shows that the "e-HKD" pilot program's second phase required applications to be submitted via email by last Friday, May 17, 2024. The application period has now ended, and the Monetary Authority expects to conduct interviews with shortlisted applicants in May or June 2024. Details will be communicated to the shortlisted institutions.

ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has received public inquiries regarding companies falsely claiming to be selected for the "e-HKD" pilot program, promoting e-HKD products to attract public investment. The Monetary Authority reminds the public that all companies selected for the "e-HKD" pilot program will be announced by the Monetary Authority.The Monetary Authority also sternly points out that all companies selected for the "e-HKD" pilot program and other institutions participating in the Monetary Authority's "sandbox" program will not raise funds from the public or provide any investment products in the name of the relevant programs. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, according to Ming Pao, Hong Kong real estate tycoon and Chow Tai Fook family wealth heir Cheng Chi Kong's listed company, Yu Cheng Ke Jin, co-CEO Liu Fu Rong stated that they will integrate tokenized funds and digital Hong Kong dollars into the same platform.Currently, the company holds a Type 9 license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, which allows it to provide asset management services, and plans to venture into more funds, STOs, and financial products in the future.ChainCatcher previously reported that Yu Cheng Ke Jin announced a partnership with Chainlink Labs to develop cross-chain fund tokens.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong 01, the Chief FinTech Director of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Zhou Huiqiang, stated at the "FinTech Forward Seminar" that the development of digital currency in Hong Kong is not lagging behind. The digital Hong Kong dollar is not intended to replace existing electronic payment tools, but rather to complement them. The Monetary Authority's implementation of the digital Hong Kong dollar will not be done in isolation; it will definitely involve research with other private institutions.The pilot program for the digital Hong Kong dollar has completed its first phase. Zhou Huiqiang believes that the digital Hong Kong dollar can add significant value to the retail payment ecosystem, including programmability, tokenization, and instant settlement, to promote faster, more cost-effective, and inclusive new economic activities, such as transactions in Web3. The second phase of the pilot program will be conducted next year, aiming to explore new use cases with the industry.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has announced that the first phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial has been successfully completed and is preparing for the second phase of the e-HKD pilot program.It is reported that as part of its "Fintech 2025" strategy, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched the e-HKD pilot program in November 2022 to assess the commercial viability of an internal CBDC. The first phase of the program focused on studying six areas of e-HKD, including mature payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, Web3 transaction settlement, and tokenized asset settlement.The next phase of the e-HKD pilot program will build on the success of the first phase and explore new use cases for e-HKD; on the technical side, it will focus on its interoperability and scalability features, leaning towards designs based on distributed ledger technology (DLT).

ChainCatcher news, according to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched a pilot program for the digital Hong Kong dollar (eHKD) in May this year to test potential use cases for eHKD. A cross-industry alliance led by Hong Kong Telecom (06823), ZhongAn Bank, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has completed a pilot test for "tokenized property-backed loans" and will submit a pilot program proposal to the Monetary Authority by the end of this month, with a white paper to be released after Hong Kong FinTech Week.The alliance stated that the overall testing process went smoothly and believes the program will help reduce transaction costs and expedite the lending process. The cross-industry alliance also includes VSFG and paywith.glass.According to the process design, users need to first open an account in the "simulated digital Hong Kong dollar" e-wallet provided by HKT Payment, a subsidiary of Hong Kong Telecom, and then navigate to the VSFG interface within the application to apply for tokenization of their assets (in this case, property). After obtaining the property tokens, users can use part of the tokens to apply for a secured loan from ZhongAn Bank, with funds disbursed through HKT's e-wallet for payment transactions. However, the loans issued can currently only be used for specified purposes as pre-defined, such as education and healthcare, to more effectively manage credit risk.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang revealed that he took advantage of the Legislative Council's summer recess to visit six provinces in mainland China and Singapore for inspections. During his visit to Singapore, he found that it is quite common for large luxury goods transactions, such as private jets, to be conducted using virtual currencies like USDT. He believes that Hong Kong should catch up quickly and improve its regulatory framework. He also thinks that the digital Hong Kong dollar to be launched in the future can play the role of a stablecoin, promoting the development of virtual asset trading in Hong Kong.

ChainCatcher news, according to Radio Television Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) stated that it is studying the establishment of a regulatory framework for the digital Hong Kong dollar or stablecoins, as well as promoting the industry's application of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to tokenize bank deposits. Next quarter, it will hold a seminar with the industry to introduce DLT technology.HKMA Vice President Yueng Kwok-hang stated that there is no timetable for promoting deposit tokenization, nor will it mandate all banks to follow suit. The process will not be linked to the research on the digital Hong Kong dollar; both will proceed in parallel.Assistant Chief Executive of Banking Supervision Chan King-wang expressed the hope that DLT technology can be more widely applied in the future, such as reducing the trading time for bond issuance to T+1. He also acknowledged that the DLT platform still faces limitations regarding whether the technology is mature enough and its stability, requiring further research in the future. However, once the technology matures, there will be opportunities to expand into the tokenization of securities, real estate, and mortgage products.

ChainCatcher news, according to Sing Tao Daily, Hong Kong "Legislative Council C15+" members today submitted a policy report proposal to Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. Among them, Wu Jiezhuang, representing the innovation and technology sector, called for Hong Kong to develop a "digital Hong Kong dollar" to make Hong Kong a "virtual asset-friendly city," facilitating the use of virtual currency for daily transactions through policy.

ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority tweeted that the ongoing pilot program for the digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) is exploring six use case categories, including Web3 settlement, tokenized assets, and tokenized deposits.Mastercard is exploring the potential of e-HKD in facilitating transaction settlements across different chains on Web3 platforms.In terms of tokenized asset settlements, the pilot project by Ripple and Fubon Bank demonstrates the potential of e-HKD to unlock the value of illiquid assets through real estate asset tokenization. Meanwhile, Boston Consulting Group, HKT Payment, and Za Ban are exploring tokenized asset-backed financing settled in e-HKD.In the area of tokenized deposit security, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, and VISA are leading pilot projects that utilize tokenized deposits and e-HKD to facilitate real-time 24/7 interbank transfers.

ChainCatcher news, Sun Yuchen tweeted that Huobi is committed to embracing the future of digital currency. If the digital Hong Kong dollar is launched, Huobi is fully prepared and willing to provide support.ChainCatcher previously reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the launch of the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" pilot program. 16 selected companies from the finance, payment, and technology sectors will conduct the first round of trials within this year. In-depth research will be conducted on the potential use cases of the digital Hong Kong dollar in six areas, including comprehensive payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, Web3 transaction settlement, and tokenized asset settlement. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, Ripple will participate in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program by showcasing a real estate asset tokenization solution. The company will also collaborate with banks such as Taiwan's Fubon Bank to demonstrate tokenized assets for equity issuance using the retail version of the electronic Hong Kong dollar CBDC. This pilot project will run on Ripple's new CBDC platform, which is based on XRP ledger technology and a new private ledger with enhanced features.Ripple CBDC Vice President James Wallis stated that this pilot project will delve into use cases as well as application, implementation, and design issues related to e-HKD. The experiences from the project will influence HKMA's decisions regarding the eventual rollout of the digital Hong Kong dollar. (Cointelegraph)

ChainCatcher message, HKIEF Hong Kong Innovation and Cryptocurrency Fund stated on social media that, based on the opinions gathered from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's market consultation and related responses, it is expected that the digital Hong Kong dollar will adopt a two-tier distribution framework, where the central bank is responsible for issuing digital currency to commercial banks at the wholesale level; while commercial banks and other payment companies will be responsible for exchanging it to the public. At the same time, a three-track approach is planned to prepare for the potential launch of the digital Hong Kong dollar in the future. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has released its "2022 Annual Report".Regarding the digital Hong Kong dollar, the HKMA pointed out that it will adopt a three-track approach to prepare for the potential issuance of a digital Hong Kong dollar and has launched a second track pilot program, inviting the industry to explore feasible application scenarios for the digital Hong Kong dollar.Yu Weiwen summarized that while we embrace financial innovation and the benefits it brings, we must also understand the necessity of monitoring and managing the risks that related developments may pose.He stated that we are closely monitoring the developments in the virtual asset sector and participating in international discussions on related regulatory matters. He revealed that after considering the opinions collected from public consultations and relevant international standards, the HKMA will adopt a "same risk, same regulation" approach to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins and define its regulatory scope. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, at the Web3 Hong Kong Carnival summit held today, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Legislative Council member Kenneth Lau stated that the "14th Five-Year Plan" mentions the goal of transforming Hong Kong into an "international innovation and technology center." Hong Kong will align with the national development strategy from three directions to build an international Web3 hub:Connecting digital renminbi, developing digital Hong Kong dollar, and virtual currency services;Enhancing research and development transformation, deepening upstream technology research and development, and innovative applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT);Launching a "talent service window" and introducing technology talents from multiple aspects, gathering global talent through appropriate Web3 development strategies and regulatory frameworks.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong Legislative Council member and co-founder of the startup accelerator G-Rocket, Wu Jiezhuang, led the establishment of the Hong Kong "Web3Hub" fund this week. He stated that he has suggested to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to issue a digital Hong Kong dollar in the form of a "stablecoin," which will help promote future online cross-border transactions and reduce the risk of financial crises.Wu Jiezhuang continued to say that if the Hong Kong government can create another milestone by becoming the world's first official issuer of a stablecoin, backed by cash to enhance stability, it could avoid bankruptcy turmoil and also bring the Hong Kong dollar into the Web 3.0 market. (Source link）

ChainCatcher news, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Paul Chan, stated in his speech on the 2023-2024 budget proposal: "We will continue to promote the application testing and preparation work of various fintech infrastructure projects, including the 'Digital Hong Kong Dollar' and projects using 'Digital Renminbi' for cross-border payment purposes. In addition, the Monetary Authority is collaborating with the Bank of Thailand to explore allowing travelers from both places to make local payments using Hong Kong's 'Faster Payment System' and Thailand's 'PromptPay', providing travelers with an additional safe, fast, and effective payment option." (source link)