Hong Kong bank pilot opens 24/7 cash settlement for tokenized fund deals

Hong Kong’s central bank has launched a pilot allowing participating banks to settle tokenized deposit transactions in central bank money 24/7, extending cash settlement beyond conventional banking hours for tokenized fund and treasury activity. The initiative is part of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s broader tokenization efforts and lets institutions move central bank cash around the clock rather than waiting for standard settlement windows. It matters because round-the-clock settlement removes a key operational bottleneck for tokenized funds and treasury products, which trade continuously but have been constrained by traditional cut-off times. The pilot’s scope, participating institutions and transaction volumes were not disclosed in the report. Next, watch for details on which banks and tokenized fund platforms join, whether the pilot expands to cross-border or wholesale use cases, and whether other central banks adopt similar 24/7 settlement models.