The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the territory’s de facto central bank, is aiming to launch trials of the e-HKD, its central bank digital currency (CBDC), in the fourth quarter of this year. If successful, the initiative could facilitate the global rollout of the digital yuan, China’s CBDC project which continues its adoption drive across the nation.
The pilot scheme will be accompanied by changes to Hong Kong’s legislation and the development of the territory’s digital infrastructure to support the e-HKD, The South China Morning Post reported.
On September 20, the authority released a position paper, e-HKD: Charting the Next Steps, which sets out the HKMA’s policy stance on the CBDC project and outlines the next steps to be taken.
"In managing the timeline for rolling out e-HKD, the HKMA would pay particular attention to emerging market trends and international developments so that e-HKD can be made available in [a] good time to address market demands and strengthen our competitiveness in the global payment arena," according to the paper.
In the document, the HKMA said that, some of the „projects and tasks in the pipeline” in relation to its CBDC project include:
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