What to Know:
- Standard Chartered launched a blockchain-based tokenised deposit solution for Ant International under the HKMA’s Project Ensemble.
- This launch enables real-time transfers in HKD, CNH, and USD for intragroup treasury operations on Ant’s Whale platform.
- The pilot currently relies on Hong Kong’s RTGS system for interbank settlement, with real-time features largely confined within Ant International’s entities, while tokenised central bank money and wider interbank functionality remain in testing.
Standard Chartered has taken a new step into blockchain-based banking by launching a tokenised deposit solution for Ant International, marking one of the most concrete uses of distributed ledger technology inside Hong Kong’s regulated financial system so far. The initiative enables real-time transfers in Hong Kong dollars, offshore renminbi, and US dollars, and places large-scale corporate treasury activity at the centre of the city’s tokenisation push.
Standard Chartered Taps Into Blockchain-based Banking
The solution has been deployed on Ant International’s Whale platform, a blockchain-based treasury management system designed to support intragroup liquidity and settlement. Ant International, the global fintech arm affiliated with Ant Group, is the first client to use the service. For now, the system allows Ant’s entities to move funds around the clock, supporting 24/7 treasury operations within the group.
The launch sits under Project Ensemble, an initiative led by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to test how distributed ledger technology can be used safely across payments, settlement, and asset tokenisation. Standard Chartered has been involved in the project since May 2024 through the Project Ensemble Architecture Community, where banks and technology firms collaborate on standards, infrastructure design, and early use cases.
At the current stage, settlement under EnsembleTX begins with Hong Kong’s existing Real Time Gross Settlement system. Interbank settlement still runs through traditional rails, and a dedicated 24/7 interbank blockchain-based settlement network has yet to be introduced. During the pilot phase, the HKMA plans to add settlement using tokenised central bank money, a digital representation of central bank funds recorded on a distributed ledger. That addition is expected to improve speed and reduce dependency on operating hours, though it remains part of a controlled test environment.
As a result, real-time functionality largely remains inside Ant International’s corporate structure rather than across the wider banking system. Transfers between different financial institutions are not yet instantaneous, which limits broader commercial deployment. At present, the strongest use case is treasury optimisation for a single corporate group rather than full-scale market adoption.
Even so, the project carries wider implications for banks and software providers. Treasury Software-as-a-Service firms are being given early visibility into tokenised deposit workflows. Vendors that already support enterprise resource planning connectors or treasury APIs can start building unified interfaces across multiple tokenised deposit platforms. These include services being tested or launched by institutions such as HSBC, UBS, and Ant International. Such integrations may help early corporate adopters manage tokenised liquidity across banks before full interoperability arrives.
The Architecture Community supporting Project Ensemble includes major financial and technology players. Alongside Standard Chartered Hong Kong, members include HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong). Hang Seng Bank, Ant Digital Technologies, and Microsoft Hong Kong are also involved. Later additions such as JPMorgan Chase Bank, R3, and WeBank Technology Services have broadened the group’s technical and institutional reach. The pilot is scheduled to run through 2026, giving banks and software firms time to test real-value transactions and prepare products for corporate clients beyond the initial participants.
The tokenised deposit launch also fits into a broader digital asset strategy taking shape at Standard Chartered. In recent months, the bank has expanded activity across stablecoins, crypto trading, and digital custody. In November, it partnered with DCS Card to enable stablecoin payments in Singapore. Earlier in the year, it introduced spot bitcoin and ether trading for institutional clients and announced plans for a digital investment app targeting younger customers in Hong Kong as part of a wider wealth strategy.
The bank has also signalled interest in deeper involvement in Hong Kong’s stablecoin framework. It plans to apply for a licence to issue a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin in partnership with Animoca Brands and HKT, with the application to be submitted to the HKMA. At the same time, its digital asset custody arm, Zodia Custody, continues to expand after securing $36 million in funding.
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