Explainer | What is wCBDC and why is it important for Hong Kong?
- The HKMA’s wholesale central bank digital currency project aims to enhance interbank settlements for tokenised money
- A planned sandbox will test tokenisation use cases that include settlement of tokenised real-world assets
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city’s de facto central bank, has launched a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) pilot to facilitate instantaneous, large-value interbank settlements of tokenised money.
One of the world’s first such platforms, the initiative, dubbed Project Ensemble, is key to the HKMA’s ambition to be a reference for the latest developments in digital currencies.
As part of the initiative, the HKMA will launch a sandbox by June for a select group of participants to test their innovations – from concepts to trading and settlement on the blockchain – in a closed loop.
The HKMA will also develop common standards by forming an “architecture community”, which has already attracted interest from some of the largest banks and technology companies, such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Ant Group, Microsoft and Hashkey Group.
Here are some of the details about the project:
What is a wCBDC, and how does it work?
A wCBDC is a digital currency issued by a central bank that is used exclusively by central banks, commercial banks or other financial institutions to settle interbank transactions. It is unlike a retail CBDC, which caters to individuals and companies and facilitates everyday transactions.
