Standard Chartered launches 24/7 tokenised deposits in Hong Kong
Why it matters
A global bank now lets companies move deposits on a blockchain at any hour, with banks settling in central bank money. It gives corporate treasurers a bank-backed way to move cash out of hours without switching into stablecoins.
The short version
Standard Chartered launched tokenised deposits for corporate clients in Hong Kong on 2 November, its first market for the product. Deposits move between participating banks in real time, with settlement in central bank money 24/7 through the HKMA's EnsembleTX system. China AMC, Finloop and PantherTrade are already making live transactions.
Hong Kong's central bank has moved its tokenised settlement system to round-the-clock running. Now a big bank has built a client product on top of it.
Standard Chartered's tokenised deposits are bank deposits recorded as tokens on a blockchain. Unlike stablecoins, the money stays a deposit held at a bank, CoinDesk noted.
Here's how it works. Clients can move the tokens to other participating banks in real time. The banks then settle with each other in central bank money, including a digital currency for interbank use, 24/7, according to Standard Chartered. The system behind it is EnsembleTX, run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which says 12 banks and 20 other firms now take part, CoinDesk reported.
Who is using it? The bank named China AMC, Finloop and PantherTrade as live users, including for settling tokenised money market funds. Fireblocks will connect the service to its digital asset clients, and HashKey is joining too.
Standard Chartered is pitching it at corporate treasurers, banks, investment platforms and crypto firms, for jobs such as moving cash between group companies. It did not disclose transaction values. Hong Kong is the first market, and the bank plans to add others over time.
Where this comes from
Written with AI from the sources above and checked against them before publishing. Here's how we work. This is news, not financial advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.