en
Back to the list

Hong Kong exploring CBDC options

source-logo  thecoinrepublic.com 05 October 2021 16:00, UTC
  • A new study will provide initial thoughts and strategies for using CBDCs during summer of 2022
  • Hong Kong aiming to create a dual-tier system 
  • They also aim to understand potential architectures and design options in the fintech industry

On Monday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) delivered an authority white paper investigating the capability of a retail-engaged central bank digital cash (CBDC), the advanced Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD). 

As indicated by the report, the HKMA will try to comprehend the possible models and plan alternatives from a specialized and administrative approach viewpoint, with the aspiration of making a double level framework — the first being intended for a national bank to issue and reclaim CBDC, and the second being retail-driven for business banks to appropriate and flow either rCBDC or CBDC-supported e-cash.

Hong Kong initiated CBDC investigations with Project LionRock

Hong Kong appeared in its examination concerning CBDCs in 2017 with Project LionRock, and in mid 2020, it left on a seven-month joint effort with the Bank of Thailand, prospecting the capability of discount CBDC for cross-line installments.

In 2019, the HKMA and the Bank of Thailand together started Project InthanonLionRock to concentrate on the capability of discount CBDC for cross-line installments. The undertaking entered the second stage in 2020 and was therefore renamed to Multiple CBDC Bridge (mBridge) in February 2021, when it was joined by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). 

Undertaking mBridge is presently a cooperation of four national banks and is likewise upheld by the Bank for International Settlements  Innovation Hub Center in Hong Kong. The undertaking means to further develop cross-line installments.

In June of this year, the HKMA reported Fintech 2025, a monetary innovation drive zeroed in on five spaces of advancement, remembering offering backing to national banks for the reception of a CBDC, fostering a talented labor force, just as the drive presented today. 

Whitepaper marks the first step of our technical exploration

HKMA CEO Eddie Yue said that the Whitepaper marks the initial step of their specialized investigation for the e-HKD. The information acquired from this exploration, along with the experience we procured from other CBDC projects, would assist with educating further thought and pondering on the specialized plan of the e-HKD. 

They additionally anticipate getting criticism and ideas from the scholarly world and industry to enhance our points of view, Yue added. In spite of giving a sweeping prohibition on all crypto-related exercises close to Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China has been reliably driven in its quest for a CBDC, setting up a good foundation for itself as a noticeable forerunner in the blossoming worldwide market.

thecoinrepublic.com