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Independent UK news and guides on tokenised equity, for founders raising capital, investors and the firms that support them. Published by Tokenisation Group Limited, London. Information only, not financial advice.

Standard Chartered tokenised deposits go live 24/7 in Hong Kong

Writer: Shawn Jhanji
Shawn Jhanji
2 days ago
3 min read

Standard Chartered launched its tokenised deposits service for corporate clients in Hong Kong on 2 November 2026, the first market in the bank's network to get it. The Standard Chartered tokenised deposits run on EnsembleTX, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's live pilot, where banks can now settle with each other in central bank money at any hour.


Standard Chartered tokenised deposits operating 24/7, connecting London and Hong Kong through always-on digital banking infrastructure, with a global illuminated clock and blockchain-inspired financial network.

A tokenised deposit is an ordinary commercial bank deposit recorded on a blockchain, so that it can move between accounts instantly and carry programmable rules, while remaining a claim on the bank.


The service is aimed at corporate treasurers, banks, investment platforms and digital asset businesses. Standard Chartered says it combines regulated deposits with the programmability of tokenised assets, including for moving liquidity between entities in the same group. It was developed with support from the monetary authority's supervisory incubator for distributed ledger technology.


EnsembleTX settlement moves to round the clock

The timeline carries the story. EnsembleTX opened on 13 November 2025, when the first real-value transfers were cleared between banks over the Hong Kong dollar real time gross settlement system, which runs on business hours. HSBC moved HK$3.8 million of tokenised deposits for Ant International that month, and Standard Chartered completed two real-value transactions of its own, including a subscription to a tokenised money market fund.


The monetary authority said at the time that the pilot would be upgraded to settle in tokenised central bank money on a 24/7 basis. That upgrade arrived on 2 November 2026, just under twelve months later. EnsembleTX now has 12 participating banks, among them HSBC, Standard Chartered, Bank of China (Hong Kong), China Construction Bank (Asia) and ICBC (Asia), plus 20 other firms including Ant International, BlackRock and China Asset Management (Hong Kong).


Eddie Yue, the monetary authority's chief executive, said the project had moved "from experimentation and piloting to a new phase". Julia Leung, chief executive of the Securities and Futures Commission, said tokenised deposits "can now power around-the-clock transactions".


What settling tokenised deposits in central bank money changes

Settlement in central bank money means the final payment between two banks is made in the central bank's own liability, not in a claim on another commercial bank. That removes the credit risk between the two banks for the final leg, and doing it at night and at weekends removes the wait for the next business day.


Early users have completed live tokenised deposit transactions and settled tokenised money market funds on the system. China Asset Management, Finloop and PantherTrade are named. Standard Chartered is working with Fireblocks, a digital asset custody and infrastructure provider, to connect digital asset clients, and HashKey has joined the ecosystem.


Several things are not stated. Transaction values and participant numbers have not been disclosed, the currencies supported are not named, and no timeline or list of further markets has been given for the planned extension beyond Hong Kong.


A UK treasurer's reading of Hong Kong's tokenised deposits

For a UK company or fund treasurer, the practical question is cut-off times. A payment that must wait for a Friday evening cut-off can now, in one live market, settle on a Saturday with the same central bank finality. The benefit is largest for businesses moving cash between group companies across time zones, or funding the cash leg of a tokenised fund trade outside London hours.


A comparable round-the-clock central bank money service for sterling tokenised deposits has not been announced. Standard Chartered is headquartered in London and is also building custody capability through its agreed purchase of Zodia Custody, and the Bank of England has opened a consultation on tokenised collateral. Tokenised cash funds are arriving on the investment side too, as the Aviva tokenised sterling liquidity fund shows. The missing piece for UK founders is the settlement leg that a Hong Kong bank now has live. As argued in the piece on Goldman Sachs and the rails founders wait for, the product usually exists before the plumbing does.


Founders treating tokenised cash as a treasury tool should ask their bank three questions: which currencies settle, at what hours, and in whose money. This is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.


Key takeaways

  • Standard Chartered launched tokenised deposits for corporate clients in Hong Kong on 2 November 2026, the first market in its network to get the service.

  • The Hong Kong Monetary Authority's EnsembleTX now settles tokenised deposits between banks in central bank money around the clock, upgraded from the business-hours system used at its November 2025 launch.

  • EnsembleTX has 12 participating banks and 20 other firms, and early users include China Asset Management, Finloop and PantherTrade.

  • Transaction values, supported currencies and any timeline for other markets have not been disclosed.

  • UK treasurers should treat the launch as a benchmark for cut-off times and settlement finality for which no sterling equivalent has been announced.


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