Hong Kong plans to launch a wholesale CBDC by the end of the year for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits.

BlockBeats news, September 18: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to launch a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) by the end of the year for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits, as part of Project EnsembleTX, enabling 24/7 round-the-clock payments. This is one of several initiatives announced by the Hong Kong Chief Executive in the 2026 Policy Address. Currently, single-bank tokenized deposit solutions have proliferated, but multiple jurisdictions are shifting toward interbank solutions. The main complexity lies in the fact that interbank solutions not only execute cross-bank payments on behalf of customers but also need to complete settlement between banks. Hong Kong launched a real-transaction pilot at the end of 2025, but initial interbank settlement still relied on the traditional RTGS system, which can only be completed during system operating hours, while wCBDC can address this limitation.

In addition, Hong Kong also plans to use wholesale CBDC for after-hours trading settlement of HKEX derivatives, following prior related announcements. Real-value transactions are also planned to be implemented within this year.