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Hong Kong could double asset management via tokenization: report
Hong Kong could potentially double its asset management sector by adopting tokenization, according to a whitepaper by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Aptos Labs, and Hang Seng Bank.
The whitepaper is based on a pilot project under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) phase 2 of Project e-HKD+, which demonstrated technical and commercial success in token-based finance.
The report highlights benefits such as reduced operational costs, lower counterparty risk, and continuous liquidity, addressing current fund management challenges.
It identified key priorities for industry-wide adoption, including regulatory compliance, business-model innovation, and scaling technology to institutional standards.
A survey of 500 retail investors in mid-2025 found that 61% would be willing to double their fund allocations if tokenized products offered features like instant settlement and 24/7 access, with 97% interested in enhanced features.
The report stresses the need for collaboration among banks, regulators, and technology providers to move from pilots to broader market adoption.
🔗 Source: The Block
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
The pilot’s scope extends beyond funds to consumer rewards and multiple network types
- Hang Seng Bank ran two pilots during this phase of the programme 1.
- One pilot used programmable digital money as rewards vouchers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Surveyed SME merchants said instant settlement through e-HKD and tokenised deposits could help cash flow 1.
- Aptos Labs said it participates in HKMA’s e-HKD+ pilot programme and Industry Forum. It also sits in HKMA’s Programmability Working Group as the only public blockchain (a shared network not controlled by a single company) involved 2.
- A survey polled retail fund investors in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. The results suggest cross-border investor interest, without claiming a formal cross-border programme goal 2.
Tokenized funds are framed as the next evolution after ETFs; Hong Kong is also moving from sandbox pilots toward real-value tokenised-deposit trials
- A BCG and Aptos report calls tokenized funds the “third major revolution in asset management,” after mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) 3.
- HKMA launched Ensemble as part of Project Ensemble. The effort aims to shift tokenised deposits from sandbox trials to live, real-value use in a controlled pilot running through 2026 4.
- Hong Kong’s work sits alongside wider regional moves on digital-asset rules and tokenisation. The cited source does not back the claim that Japan, South Korea, and Singapore have “recently” rolled out “comprehensive” crypto and tokenisation regulations 4.
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