Hong Kong Regulators Host Seminar on Tokenized Funds and Bank Deposits

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) co-hosted a seminar on November 11 on Project Ensemble and tokenized investment products. About 200 industry practitioners attended, including banks sharing their recent tokenization work.

• The HKMA and the SFC held a joint seminar on November 11 attended by approximately 200 industry practitioners.
• The event followed the HKMA’s announcement of a new chapter of EnsembleTX, which enables 24/7 interbank settlement of tokenized deposits.
• The SFC has approved round-the-clock secondary trading for tokenized money market funds.

What the HKMA and SFC discussed

The seminar in Hong Kong focused on Project Ensemble, the HKMA’s tokenization initiative, and tokenized SFC-authorized investment products. Tokenization means representing assets such as deposits or fund shares as digital tokens on a blockchain. Banks and other early adopters shared practical experience to encourage further collaboration, the regulators said.

The HKMA is Hong Kong’s central bank, and the SFC is the city’s securities regulator.

How EnsembleTX and SFC approvals fit together

The seminar came shortly after the HKMA announced, during Hong Kong Fintech Week 2026, a new chapter of EnsembleTX. The platform allows banks to settle tokenized deposits with each other at any hour, every day. Tokenized deposits are bank deposits issued in digital token form.

The SFC separately approved round-the-clock secondary trading for tokenized money market funds. According to the regulators, combining tokenized deposits with investment products lets investors invest in real time and optimize returns.

Hong Kong’s tokenized products and crypto platforms

Elisa Ng said on November 2, during Hong Kong FinTech Week, that the SFC has approved 17 tokenized products for retail investors, including money market funds, gold products and ETFs, with about $1.3 billion in assets. She said tokenized gold ETFs could be the next pilot.

Coincub’s registry tracks 33 companies with a presence in Hong Kong across three brands, including crypto trading platforms that have applied to the SFC for a license. The number of registrations rose this month.

What regulators said

Nelson Chow, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA, said the city’s market infrastructure and growing range of digital money options and tokenized products position it well. He said the HKMA will keep working closely with the SFC to support responsible innovation.

Elisa Ng, the SFC’s Executive Director of Investment Products, said, “Tokenisation in Hong Kong is moving beyond experimentation towards commercialisation.” She said the next stage is to connect tokenized products, digital money and financial infrastructure.

What comes next for Project Ensemble

The HKMA said Project Ensemble aims to grow transaction volumes by adding more tokenization use cases with practical benefits. The central bank said it will work with the SFC and industry to widen the use of tokenized deposits to settle different types of tokenized investment products. No specific dates or new rules were announced.