Standard Chartered debuts blockchain tokenized deposits

Standard Chartered has launched a blockchain-based tokenized deposit solution for Ant International, enabling real-time transfers in HKD, CNH, and USD.

The bank worked with Ant International, a global fintech company, to implement the technology on Ant’s Whale platform.

The launch is part of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Project Ensemble, which aims to advance distributed ledger technology in the region.

Ant International is the first client to use the new solution, which allows 24/7 treasury management and liquidity transfers.

Both Standard Chartered and Ant International are members of the EnsembleTX group, which supports tokenization adoption in Hong Kong.

Since May 2024, Standard Chartered has joined Project Ensemble’s Architecture Community to help develop industry standards and test tokenization use cases.

🔗 Source: Standard Chartered

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The gap between tokenised deposits and real money movement

EnsembleTX starts with settlement through the HKD Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system. A new 24/7 interbank rail is not in place yet. 1
The HKMA plans to add 24/7 settlement in tokenised central bank money (a digital representation of central bank funds on a distributed ledger) during the pilot, while interbank flows start on RTGS. 1
Today, real-time features sit mainly inside Ant International’s entities. Interbank settlement between institutions is not instantaneous, which limits a wider commercial rollout beyond treasury optimization for a single corporate group. 2 1

Treasury Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers can build early integrations for tokenised deposit workflows

Project Ensemble Architecture Community lists Standard Chartered Hong Kong, HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong). Hang Seng Bank, Ant Digital Technologies (a technology provider focused on digital finance infrastructure) and Microsoft Hong Kong take part. Later additions include JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., R3 (an enterprise blockchain software firm) and WeBank Technology Services (the technology arm of China’s digital bank WeBank). 3 4
Vendors with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) connectors or treasury Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) can ship unified interfaces across tokenised deposit and treasury platforms such as HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service, UBS Digital Cash plus Ant International’s Whale. This helps early adopters manage multi‑bank tokenised liquidity before interoperability matures. 5
The pilot runs through 2026, which gives Software‑as‑a‑Service (SaaS) providers a window to engage banks testing real‑value transactions and to position products for corporations beyond Ant International adopting similar tokenised treasury solutions. 1