Hong Kong Races to Build a Digital-Asset Hub: 24/7 On-Chain Settlement, HKD Stablecoin and Tokenized Assets Take Shape

I. New Settlement Rail: CMU Upgrade Targets 24/7 On-Chain Settlement

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Chief Executive Eddie Yue said on 23 September at a treasury-markets summit that the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU)—the city's bond-settlement backbone—will be upgraded onto blockchain infrastructure, launching new services by end-2026 to enable round-the-clock, real-time, on-chain settlement. Codenamed EnsembleTX, the platform will support a digital Hong Kong dollar, wholesale central-bank digital currencies (wCBDC), tokenized deposits, and eventually regulated stablecoins, modernizing debt-market infrastructure for a tokenized economy. For institutional and retail participants, programmable financial products can settle instantly on-chain, materially lifting efficiency.

II. Stablecoins Move From Framework to Practice: HKDAP Pilot Live

Hong Kong's stablecoin regime took effect in August 2025, and the HKMA issued its first issuer licences in April 2026. Two licensed issuers with banking backgrounds are now running multi-scenario pilots. Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint Financial launched HKDAP, a Hong Kong-dollar-pegged stablecoin, opening a beta for institutional distributors and professional investors in August; circulation stood at roughly 522,000 tokens as of August, initially supporting cross-border payments, fiat conversion and settlement of tokenized assets, with HashKey Exchange as an authorized distribution partner. Standard Chartered became the first bank distributor and plans tokenized money-market-fund subscription and settlement in Q4 2026. HSBC is preparing its own stablecoin by year-end. At the policy level, the 2026 Policy Address (released 16 September) explicitly allows regulated stablecoins to trade on licensed virtual-asset platforms and to settle tokenized money-market funds.

III. Tokenized Assets Scale Up: 13 Products, $10.7 Billion AUM

The SFC is refining the framework for tokenized investment products and has introduced licensing requirements for tokenized gold and stablecoins. As of March 2026, Hong Kong had 13 tokenized products available to the public, with assets under management in tokenized classes reaching $10.7 billion—about seven times the level a year earlier. The direction is to issue and trade suitable real-world assets (RWAs), such as gold, as tokens on licensed platforms, while tightening custody, liquidity and client-asset-segregation rules. HKEX plans to launch RMB-denominated gold futures early next year, extending its commodity-derivatives footprint.

IV. Digital Bonds Lead the World: Nearly Half of Global Market

Tokenized bonds are Hong Kong's most mature use case. Per the Policy Address, digital bonds issued in Hong Kong accounted for nearly 50% of the global market between 2025 and H1 2026. In June 2026, the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation priced a HK$12 billion (≈US$1.5 billion) digital bond described as the world's largest completed tokenized bond issuance, with orders of about HK$24 billion from over 100 institutions. The government plans to regularize digital-bond issuance and explore digital currencies across the bond lifecycle—settlement, coupon payments, redemption—with tokenized Exchange Fund Bill tests scheduled by end-2026. More than HK$1.3 trillion of such bills could be drawn into the program.

V. Closing the Institutional Loop, With Caveats

Legislation is catching up. Legislative Councillor Duncan Chiu (Technology and Innovation) said on 23 September at Shanghai Blockchain Week that a new licensing bill covering virtual-asset trading and custody will be tabled in the LegCo in H2 2026, targeting passage in early 2027. He argued the stalling of the US CLARITY Act ultimately benefits Hong Kong's hub ambitions. The SFC is deploying new surveillance tools such as CrypTech, strengthening custody and AML controls, and using AI for market oversight. Investors should still note risks: price volatility of tokenized assets, smart-contract and custody risk, and fraud on unlicensed venues—the SFC recently flagged Vebit as a suspicious platform.

Conclusion

From the 2025 stablecoin framework to tokenization as a 2026 Policy Address headline, and now to the September HKMA–SFC rollout, Hong Kong is leveraging "regulatory certainty" to offset global policy volatility and move digital assets from pilot to normalization. For investors, grasping this new infrastructure—on-chain settlement, stablecoins and tokenized assets—matters more than chasing any single price move.