- The Hong Kong Financial Authority has introduced the graduation of its e-HKD pilot program.
- This system is a part of a broader plan by the HKMA to discover the implementation of a retail CBDC.
- The pilot program will see participation from 16 companies together with Ripple Labs and Mastercard.
The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) has kickstarted its e-HKD pilot program, paving the best way for the potential implementation of a retail central financial institution digital foreign money (CBDC) in Hong Kong. The pilot program is a part of a broader plan by the city-state to discover the use circumstances of a retail CBDC for the settlement of tokenized property, offline funds, and programmable funds amongst a number of different makes use of.
In keeping with a press launch by the HKMA, Hong Kong’s central banking establishment’s newest pilot program will see participation from 16 companies from the monetary, cost, and know-how sectors. As per the listing, the companies embrace main blockchain agency Ripple Labs, Commonplace Chartered, and high cost answer suppliers Visa and Mastercard.
The e-HKD pilot program is a key a part of Rail 2 underneath the Hong Kong Financial Authority’s three-rail method which laid out the roadmap and timeline for a possible retail CBDC within the city-state. As per Rail 2, the HKMA will take deep dives into use circumstances in addition to software, implementation, and design points regarding e-HKD.
This stage additionally features a sequence of pilots in collaboration with trade stakeholders in an effort to gauge feasibility and acquire precise expertise. Rail 2 will run parallel to Rail 1, which goals to put the know-how and authorized foundations to help the implementation of e-HKD. Rail 1 additionally includes the preparation of legislative amendments in an effort to make CBDC a authorized tender in Hong Kong.
Eddie Yue, the chief government of HKMA, acknowledged that the pilot program will assist Hong Kong keep its standing as a worldwide monetary hub. “We welcome the constructive suggestions acquired and agree with the respondents on the necessity to take a deep dive into points resembling privateness safety and use circumstances,” he added.
