The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Monday it had expanded its Project Ensemble pilot to allow round-the-clock settlement of tokenized transactions and plans to bring regulated stablecoins into trials involving tokenized government debt. Separately, HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery said the bank's Hong Kong dollar stablecoin RedCoin had reached 50,000 users about 10 days after its October 23 launch.
The HKMA's move to 24/7 settlement gives banks in Hong Kong a way to move tokenized deposits and government debt outside the hours of the city's dollar settlement system. HSBC's RedCoin, with 50,000 users, puts a licensed bank stablecoin into retail payments through PayMe, which HSBC says has more than 3.3 million customers.
Hong Kong's monetary regulator said on Monday that it had expanded its Project Ensemble pilot to allow round-the-clock settlement of tokenized transactions, and that it plans to bring regulated stablecoins into trials involving tokenized government debt.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the EnsembleTX project had advanced to a stage allowing 24/7 real-value transactions. It said the change would help banks and their clients move funds globally, manage tokenized investments and handle treasury operations outside conventional settlement hours. Participating banks had initially settled payments through Hong Kong's existing dollar settlement system, which limited settlement hours. When real-value trials began in November 2025, the HKMA said it planned to introduce tokenized central bank money to allow settlement around the clock.
The HKMA launched Project Ensemble in March 2024 to explore how banks could settle tokenized transactions using wholesale central bank digital money. A sandbox opened that August, allowing banks to connect their tokenized deposit platforms and test transactions.
Speaking at Hong Kong FinTech Week on Monday, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said the regulator was introducing tokenized central bank money as a foundation layer for 24/7 settlement. He said tokenized bonds, money market funds and bank deposits were already being used. The HKMA also said recognized dealers had completed secondary-market trial trades in tokenized Exchange Fund Bills, a form of short-term debt issued by the regulator, and that it plans to expand those trials to include regulated stablecoins.
Separately, HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery said at Hong Kong FinTech Week that the bank's Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, RedCoin, had reached 50,000 users about 10 days after its debut. He said HSBC was targeting multi-million users as it expands access to the token. RedCoin's rollout brings stablecoins to retail payments, while Ensemble's settlement work has focused on transactions involving banks and tokenized investments.
Elhedery said HSBC was also offering tokenized deposits to wholesale clients in Hong Kong and about half a dozen other jurisdictions, allowing funds to move around the clock. The bank launched RedCoin on October 23 for transfers and merchant payments through its PayMe application. HSBC said more than 3.3 million PayMe customers could activate stablecoin wallets to use the token. It also plans to bring the stablecoin into its mobile banking app and allow subscriptions to tokenized investments, including a Hong Kong dollar money market fund share class.
HSBC was among Hong Kong's first licensed stablecoin issuers in April alongside Anchorpoint Financial, a venture backed by Animoca Brands and Standard Chartered. The city's licensing regime, introduced in August 2025, requires issuers to meet standards for backing reserves, redemption and risk management.
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