"The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (23 September) commenced Phase 2 of the e-HKD Pilot Programme (Phase 2) to delve deeper into innovative use cases for new forms of digital money, including e-HKD and tokenized deposits, that can potentially be used by individuals and corporates," the HKMA said in a statement.
During this phase, 11 groups of firms will study use cases for e-HKD and tokenized deposits in three main themes, namely settlement of tokenized assets, programmability and offline payments, the statement read.
The results of this phase will help identify practical challenges the HKMA may face in developing, implementing, and operating a digital currency ecosystem, the authority said. The second phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, it added.
The HKMA aims to assess the effectiveness of digital currencies, given that the region already has systems like the Faster Payment System (FPS), digital wallets, and mobile banking, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported.