Hong Kong Wholesale CBDC Pilot Advances With 24/7 Settlement

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority expanded the EnsembleTX pilot phase of Project Ensemble on 2 November 2026. The move introduces 24/7 real-value settlement for interbank transactions that use tokenized deposits and tokenized central bank money.

Settlement previously depended on the standard Hong Kong dollar real-time gross settlement system, which operated only during business hours. The upgrade replaces that restriction with continuous availability of tokenized central bank money for cross-bank transfers.

Hong Kong Wholesale CBDC Settlement Gains New Participants and Hours

The expansion adds institutions that can issue tokenized deposits, giving market participants additional counterparties for settlement on the platform. Clients can now route payments across a wider set of banks without waiting for business-day windows, which supports liquidity management for tokenized asset portfolios and treasury operations.

Completed trials already demonstrated secondary-market trades of tokenized Exchange Fund Bills by Recognised Dealers. These trades used the new settlement rail and showed improved efficiency for secondary and repo markets. Regulated stablecoins will enter the trial set as a payment and settlement instrument in the coming months.

EnsembleTX began on 13 November 2025 as the live-value phase following the 2024 sandbox. Initial participants included seven tokenized deposit banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered Hong Kong and Bank of China Hong Kong, along with asset managers BlackRock and Franklin Templeton and exchange operator HKEX. The 2026 Policy Address set the target of tokenized central bank money settlement by the end of 2026.

Background on Project Ensemble and Parallel HKMA Initiatives

Project Ensemble focuses on the use of wholesale CBDC for interbank and tokenized asset settlement. The current phase moves the system from scheduled operating hours to full calendar availability, addressing a constraint that limited overnight and weekend liquidity in earlier tests.

At the same time the HKMA announced connections between the Faster Payment System and UnionPay International, with full QR-code payment reach targeted for the end of 2026. Separate work streams include Project SAGE on agentic AI governance and the tConnect Launchpad with Cyberport to foster tokenization collaboration.

The mBridge multi-CBDC platform operates on a separate track with its own membership expansion, including Macao’s participation in 2026. It remains independent of the EnsembleTX updates announced on 2 November.

Next Steps for Tokenized Settlement in Hong Kong

Further onboarding of banks and other settlement participants is scheduled as regulatory and technical readiness permits. Additional use cases will test stablecoin integration and broader tokenized asset transactions once the 24/7 tokenized central bank money rail reaches full operational status.

Market participants can prepare by reviewing existing tokenized deposit arrangements and confirming connectivity to the EnsembleTX platform. Institutions that complete onboarding will gain immediate access to continuous settlement for both interbank payments and secondary-market trades of tokenized instruments.