The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has embarked on a groundbreaking collaboration with the European Central Bank (ECB) to explore the digital euro project, marking its first participation outside the EU.
Partnering with the Banque de France (BDF), HKMA aims to test interoperability between their respective wholesale CBDC infrastructures – BDF’s DL3S2 and HKMA’s Ensemble Sandbox.
The focus is on enhancing real-time cross-border and cross-currency payments efficiency, and fostering interoperability between financial market infrastructures across jurisdictions.
Denis Beau, first deputy governor of BDF, emphasized the initiative’s goal to improve cross-border payments, leveraging tokenized forms of the Hong Kong dollar and Euro through payment versus payment mechanisms.
HKMA’s Project Ensemble, initiated in March, underscores their commitment to exploring tokenization use cases like green bonds, carbon credits, and other real-world assets.
Howard Lee, deputy chief executive of HKMA, expressed optimism about collaborating with BDF to advance global tokenization and promote financial market connectivity through innovative cross-border payment solutions.
The United Arab Emirates is set to launch its digital dirham, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Ripple has secured a strategic partnership with Chipper Cash to enhance cross-border payments across Africa, utilizing Ripple’s blockchain and XRP for fast, cost-effective transactions.
Custodia Bank, a notable player in the crypto space, has partnered with Vantage Bank to introduce a groundbreaking stablecoin, marking a first for the U.S. banking sector.
World Network, formerly known as Worldcoin, is reportedly in advanced discussions with Visa to launch a new stablecoin wallet that would seamlessly integrate crypto-native features into Visa’s vast global customer base.