Standard Chartered has opened its tokenised deposit service to corporate clients in Hong Kong, the first market in its global network to do so. The launch was announced on Monday 2 November. Access is limited to corporate treasurers, financial institutions, investment platforms and digital asset players.
How the service works
Tokenised deposits are bank deposits represented by a token on a shared ledger. Transfers between partner banks run 24/7 through EnsembleTX, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s platform, which is the operational phase of Project Ensemble. The HKMA has tested tokenised transactions since 2024.
China AMC, Finloop and PantherTrade have already settled real transactions, including tokenised money market funds. Fireblocks and HashKey are joining the service, and the bank says further markets will follow.
Ole Matthiessen on the aim
Ole Matthiessen, global head of transaction services and digital assets at Standard Chartered, said the objective is to embed digital money into Treasury and investment flows. He added that existing bank controls remain in place.
The bank has been building towards the launch. In December 2025 it unveiled a blockchain deposit solution with Ant International in Hong Kong dollars, offshore yuan and US dollars. Its joint venture Anchorpoint has been deploying a regulated Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin since August.
Source: Standard Chartered
