A recent pilot conducted under the HKMA’s e-HKD+ initiative explored the feasibility of using digital currencies for cross-border investment transactions.

The exercise involved converting a stablecoin, A$DC issued by ANZ and backed by AUD, into a Hong Kong central bank digital currency (e-HKD) and then utilizing it to purchase a tokenized money market fund.

This test was carried out in collaboration with financial institutions including ANZ, Fidelity International, and ChinaAMC. The connection between ANZ’s proprietary blockchain DASChain and Ethereum’s public testnet via Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) enabled the seamless transfer and conversion of digital assets.

According to Visa officials, their Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) handled the lifecycle of digital money, while Chainlink’s infrastructure managed the smart contracts needed for transaction settlement under payment-versus-payment (PvP) and delivery-versus-payment (DvP) mechanisms.

The trial applied on-chain identity verification and token issuance using both ERC-20 and ERC-3643 standards, exploring regulatory compliance and security. Asset managers demonstrated how these digital money mechanisms could streamline the investment process, potentially reducing settlement time from days to seconds.

These enhancements support continuous operations outside standard business hours, including weekends and public holidays. The broader context reflects growing institutional interest in tokenized asset markets, projected to exceed USD 2 trillion by the end of the decade.

HKMA’s ongoing e-HKD+ programme builds on prior research and experiments in programmable money, expanding its scope to include use cases involving tokenized bank deposits and transactions across multiple blockchain types. Fidelity and ChinaAMC officials highlighted that programmable digital currencies could reduce back-office complexity and increase access to investment products.