Hong Kong's monetary regulator has opened its Project Ensemble pilot to round-the-clock settlement of tokenized transactions. It also plans to add regulated stablecoins to trials of tokenized government debt, while HSBC says its RedCoin stablecoin has reached 50,000 users.
Hong Kong has expanded its Project Ensemble pilot to allow round-the-clock settlement of tokenized transactions, and the city's regulator is preparing to bring regulated stablecoins into trials involving tokenized government debt.
On Monday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said it had advanced its EnsembleTX project to a new stage allowing 24/7 real-value transactions. The HKMA said the update would help banks and their clients move funds globally, manage tokenized investments and handle treasury operations outside conventional settlement hours.
Settlement moves beyond conventional hours
Participating banks initially settled payments through Hong Kong's existing dollar settlement system, which limited settlement hours. When the pilot began real-value trials 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, letting banks connect their tokenized deposit platforms and test transactions.
HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue told Hong Kong FinTech Week that the regulator was introducing tokenized central bank money as a "foundation layer" for 24/7 settlement.
Stablecoins join tokenized Exchange Fund Bills trials
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. It plans to expand those trials to include regulated stablecoins, although it has not announced a specific start date.
HSBC's RedCoin reaches 50,000 users
Separately, HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery said the bank's recently launched Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, RedCoin, had reached 50,000 users about 10 days after its debut. He added that HSBC is targeting multi-million users as it expands access to the token.
The bank launched RedCoin on Oct. 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.
HSBC was among Hong Kong's first licensed stablecoin issuers in April, alongside Anchorpoint Financial, under a licensing regime introduced in August 2025.
Sources: HKMA, Cointelegraph, crypto.news
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