Bitcoin News and Finance
Hong Kong to Start Testing Digital Currency in Coming Months Skip to main content

Hong Kong to Start Testing Digital Currency in Coming Months

Hong Kong to Start Testing Digital Currency in Coming Months

China’s special administrative region of Hong Kong is going to trial а digital version of its dollar as early as this year, in preparation for eventual roll-out. The territory is trying to catch up with those that are already launching central bank digital currencies, including the People’s Republic with its digital yuan project.

Trials of Digital Hong Kong Dollar Planned for Q4

Hong Kong intends to begin testing a currency called the e-HKD, a digital incarnation of the Hong Kong dollar, in the remaining months of the year. The trials will be facilitated by the adoption of legislative amendments and the building of digital infrastructure necessary to support the project, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced, quoted by the South China Morning Post.

The pilot phase comes after consultations conducted to gather feedback on potential demand, privacy aspects, and other issues that may arise around the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Howard Lee, deputy chief executive of the HKMA, which performs the role of a central bank, elaborated:

Although there might not be an imminent use case for e-HKD, taking into account the findings of our study and the feedback from market consultation and international development, the HKMA will start paving the way for e-HKD implementation and will proceed toward a launch of e-HKD in the future.

The high-ranking official also noted that many jurisdictions are already exploring the launch of CBDCs. Participants in the consultations held by the banking authority expressed their concerns that Hong Kong is lagging behind and needs to catch up with the international trend.

The trials will involve selected banks, payment providers, and tech firms. These entities will examine the usage of the digital currency among their employees and a small number of clients, Lee detailed. “The purpose of introducing the e-HKD is to provide more choice for the customer,” the deputy CEO added. He also emphasized that the move will not affect Hong Kong’s three note-issuing banks.

HKMA to Set Timeline for e-HKD Launch After Tests

Following the pilot phase, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will set the timeline for launching the e-HKD, said Colin Pou, executive director for financial infrastructure at the HKMA. The regulator first announced the CBDC plan in June 2021, as part of the Fintech 2025 strategy. A white paper was issued in October and the consultations ended in May.

Dozens of central banks around the world have been studying digital currencies and taking steps to create their own. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been running pilot programs for its digital yuan (e-CNY) in a number of cities and recently announced the expansion of the pilot area in four of them to the province level.

Hong Kong has also conducted small-scale tests with the e-CNY this year, Howard Lee revealed earlier this month. Last summer, the region’s financial authorities said they will link the digital yuan to its domestic payments system. Besides its cooperation with the PBOC, the HKMA has been also working with the central banks of Thailand and the United Arab Emirates on cross-border CBDC payments.

Do you expect Hong Kong to catch up with mainland China in its digital currency project? Tell us in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory