The project, dubbed 'Ensemble', will initially focus on tokenised deposits issued by commercial banks and made available to the general public.

It follows the completion of pilots with 16 firms last year that took a deep dive into potential use cases for an eHK in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenised deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions and settlement of tokenised assets.

At the core of Project Ensemble is a wCBDC Sandbox that the HKMA will launch this year to further research and test tokenisation use cases that include, among others, settlement of tokenised real world assets such as green bonds, carbon credits, aircraft, electric vehicle charging stations, electronic bills of lading and treasury management.

To help set industry standards and a future-proof strategy, the HKMA is forming a wCBDC Architecture Community consisting of local and multinational banks, key players in the digital asset industry, technology companies and the central bank's CBDC Expert Group. The central bank adds that it will also continue to partner with Cyberport and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation to foster the development of asset tokenisation and support homegrown fintech innovation.

The HKMA's chief Eddie Yue says that if the wCBDC Sandbox garners sufficient interest from the industry, the HKMA will conduct a “live” issuance of the wCBDC, adding that it could potentially forge a new financial market infrastructure that bridges the existing gap between tokenised real world assets and money in transactions.

"Project Ensemble will provide fresh impetus to our vibrant financial industry and reinforce our forefront position in tokenised money and assets," he says. "We welcome global talents and industry players to come to Hong Kong and be part of this very exciting tokenisation journey.”