Weekly briefing · Edition 26 · 9 November 2026 · covering 3 to 9 November

HKMA advances Project Ensemble to 24/7 settlement in tokenised central bank money

Edited by Cliffton Lee · Singapore · 12 items covered from 531 sources reviewed

Key points

The HKMA advanced Ensemble TX on 2 November 2026 to support 24/7 interbank settlement of tokenised deposits in tokenised central bank money, scaling the pilot from 7 to 12 participating banks and from 13 to 20 industry pioneers, with the interbank leg no longer bound to RTGS operating hours.
HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Tradeweb and Fireblocks demonstrated an end-to-end tokenised treasury flow for Uber on the Canton Network, with Uber buying Benji money market fund units against HSBC tokenised deposits on a DvP basis and redeeming a portion over a weekend.
Five G-SIBs, HSBC, Kinexys by JP Morgan, MUFG, Societe Generale FORGE and Standard Chartered, set up the Global Layer One Organisation on 5 November 2026, transitioning the GL1 standards effort out of MAS and into industry governance.
The New York Stock Exchange added Computershare, Equiniti and Broadridge to its forthcoming tokenised securities venue, bringing in transfer agents that serve close to 5,000 listed issuers and most of the S&P 500, with Broadridge also mandated to carry shareholder voting onto the rails.
Eurex made the ESM's EUR 1 billion digital bond eligible for Eurex Repo general collateral and as margin collateral at Eurex Clearing on 2 November 2026, the first time a traditional CCP has taken a digital security into live financing and margin pools.

Happy Deepavali to readers in Singapore. Week ending 9 November 2026, covering 3 to 9 November 2026. The most material development is the HKMA pushing Ensemble TX to 24/7 interbank settlement in tokenised central bank money on 2 November, since the always-on cash leg is the piece that lets tokenised deposits and tokenised money market funds move outside banking hours without a bank having to warehouse the mismatch. The pilot also widened to 12 banks and 20 industry pioneers, and it lands in the same week HSBC and Franklin Templeton showed the corporate-treasury use case end to end for Uber, and five G-SIBs took the GL1 standards effort into their own hands.

What's new in Asia

HKMA advances Project Ensemble to 24/7 settlement in tokenised central bank money ↗
Hong Kong
Ensemble TX now settles the interbank leg of tokenised deposit transactions in tokenised central bank money around the clock, so the mirror payment that every multi-bank token transfer requires is no longer capped by HKD RTGS hours, and participation has grown to 12 banks and 20 industry pioneers running live corporate-treasury and tokenised MMF flows. The read is that Hong Kong has solved the hardest operational problem in a multi-issuer tokenised-deposit system, namely how Bank A's deposit token settles against Bank B's over a weekend, which puts the HKMA ahead of peers where tokenised cash is still bounded by RTGS windows or sits at minimum-viable-product stage like Pontes.
What this means
Product ownertokenised deposit
the weekend settlement gap that forced a single-bank wrapper on most tokenised-deposit products is now closed on Hong Kong rails, so re-scope the roadmap around multi-bank interoperability rather than designing around a closed-network constraint that no longer binds.
Collateral & funding desk
tokenised central bank money settling 24/7 changes the intraday-liquidity maths for any desk that would hold deposit tokens against tokenised MMF positions, since a weekend subscription or redemption can now settle in central bank money rather than waiting for Monday. Work through the liquidity-buffer assumption before a client proposes always-on treasury sweeping.
Regulatory & policy affairs
the HKMA-SFC coordination behind this, following last month's approval of 24/7 retail tokenised MMF trading, is becoming the reference model for how a cash leg and a securities leg get regulated in tandem. Read it against MAS, which has yet to publish an equivalent always-on tokenised-cash settlement capability.
Thailand consults on a baht stablecoin framework modelled on Hong Kong ↗
Thailand
The Bank of Thailand's consultation, announced 19 October and detailed this week alongside Taiwan draft rules and Nigeria final rules, leans heavily on the HKMA template, with KYC on all stablecoin holders, a small number of initial licensees that must show value beyond existing payment methods, one-business-day redemption, and reserves spread across several bank deposits before short-term government bonds are considered later. Thailand's FX controls shape the design in a way Hong Kong's do not, barring foreign-currency stablecoin issuance outright and blocking stablecoin wallet providers from connecting to offshore exchanges, so a Thai-issued USD stablecoin would be treated as retail FX for speculation and refused.
What this means
Product ownerstablecoin
a THB stablecoin is viable only inside a tightly licensed, KYC-everywhere perimeter with no interest and no incentives, so model the economics on payments utility and float, not on yield, before committing to a Thai entity.
Regulatory & policy affairs
the HKMA framework is now the de facto reference regime for Asian stablecoin regulation, with Thailand and Taiwan both drafting against it. Factor the FX-control overlay into any pan-Asia stablecoin strategy, since a design that clears in Hong Kong can still be blocked in Bangkok on capital-account grounds.

Global news

Payments & settlement

SBI invests $100m in Erebor, the Thiel-backed stablecoin bank ↗
US
Japan's SBI Holdings is putting $100 million into Erebor Bank, the OCC-chartered, FDIC-insured US bank that opened in February 2026 with a stated aim of being the most regulated entity conducting and facilitating stablecoin transactions, running an in-house core with around-the-clock blockchain settlement including weekends. The strategic logic is cross-border, since SBI provides Japan's first trust-type yen stablecoin JPYSC, distributes USDC and RLUSD in Japan, and holds stakes in Ripple and Circle, making SBI group entities natural clients for Erebor's dollar correspondent rails, though the foreign-bank deposit business is barely underway at $36 million as of September.
What this means
Treasury & allocator
a nationally chartered, FDIC-insured bank purpose-built for stablecoin settlement changes the counterparty profile for dollar stablecoin operations, so revisit which banking relationship could host on and off ramps without a separate crypto-custody arrangement.
Founder & strategy
SBI bridging a Japanese yen-stablecoin issuer to a US stablecoin bank sketches the cross-border rail institutions have been circling. Watch whether this becomes a JPY-USD stablecoin corridor or stays a balance-sheet stake, since the $36 million foreign-deposit figure says the operating business is still early.
Standard Chartered debuts tokenised deposits in Hong Kong for corporate clients ↗
UK
Standard Chartered has brought tokenised deposits live for corporate clients in Hong Kong, extending the tokenised-cash rail that underpins the HKMA's Ensemble work to a second named G-SIB issuer in the market. The timing matters because a multi-issuer tokenised-deposit market only works once more than one bank is issuing, which is exactly the interoperability case the 24/7 central bank money leg was built to settle.
What this means
Product ownertokenised deposit
a second G-SIB issuing in Hong Kong is the signal that corporate treasurers can start treating tokenised deposits as a bank-agnostic instrument rather than a single-provider product, so test whether the client proposition still assumes a captive issuer.
Distribution & BD
corporate-treasury demand in Hong Kong now has at least two bank options, which re-prices the pitch from novelty to selection. Sharpen the differentiation on settlement reach and fund connectivity rather than on being first.

Issuance & funds

HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Tradeweb and Fireblocks run end-to-end tokenised treasury for Uber ↗
UK
Uber bought Franklin Templeton's Benji tokenised money market fund units through Tradeweb against HSBC tokenised deposits on a delivery-versus-payment basis on the Canton Network, then liquidated a portion over a weekend while still earning yield. Tradeweb's role matters because its 2024 acquisition of Institutional Cash Distributors puts the venue corporate treasurers already use directly onto tokenised rails, and the open question across this and parallel efforts by Ant International is who provides liquidity when the fund manager's dealing window is shut.
What this means
Treasury & allocator
the pitch of sitting in yield-bearing MMF units until the moment cash goes out, weekends included, now has a named corporate behind it, so model what idle-balance yield a 24/7 subscribe-redeem capability would actually capture against your current sweep schedule.
Product ownertokenised fund
weekend redemption outside the fund's dealing window depends on someone warehousing liquidity, and the market will likely settle on more than one route. Decide whether to provide that liquidity, partner for it, or price it in before marketing always-on redemption.
Distribution & BD
Tradeweb threading tokenised MMFs through the ICD portal means the distribution surface is an existing treasury workflow, not a new one. Reconsider whether the go-to-market still requires standing up a bespoke venue.
Amundi tokenises a share class of its EUR 22.8bn European equity index fund ↗
EU
Amundi has issued a tokenised share class of its Core STOXX Europe 600 index sub-fund on public Ethereum with CACEIS as transfer and tokenisation agent, the first large European equity index fund to add a blockchain-based share class, extending a programme that until now ran through cash and MMF products. The significance is the move from tokenised cash into real equity-index AUM at EUR 22.8 billion scale as of the launch, on a public chain rather than a permissioned one.
What this means
Product ownertokenised fund
a mainstream equity index fund on public Ethereum shifts the reference point for what counts as institutional-grade tokenised issuance beyond cash and credit, so re-examine whether the equity-index wrapper belongs on the roadmap sooner than planned.
Compliance, legal & risk
a public-chain share class on a widely held index fund raises transfer-agent and investor-eligibility questions that a permissioned pilot sidesteps. Get ahead of how CACEIS's role as tokenisation agent maps onto existing register and KYC obligations.
Morgan Stanley says it is among the first banks to tokenise real-world assets ↗
US
Morgan Stanley has disclosed a pilot putting US stocks and Treasuries on a blockchain, positioning itself among the first banks to tokenise those asset classes. The detail is thin, so read it as a wirehouse confirming institutional-grade infrastructure readiness rather than a production launch, but the name itself is the signal given Morgan Stanley's retail and wealth distribution reach.
What this means
Distribution & BD
a wirehouse of Morgan Stanley's scale experimenting with tokenised stocks and Treasuries changes the distribution calculus for anyone building tokenised equity products, since the eventual channel could be a full-service broker rather than a crypto venue. Reconsider which distribution partner the product is really designed for.
Founder & strategy
the announcement is positioning more than deployment for now, so weigh it as a readiness signal and watch for the first named production flow before treating Morgan Stanley as a live venue.

Regulatory & licensing

CFTC clears perpetual futures on stocks ↗
US
The CFTC has cleared perpetual futures on individual stocks, importing a crypto-native derivatives structure into regulated US equity markets. It is a notable widening of the perpetuals model rather than a tokenisation-infrastructure move, but it reshapes the competitive context for tokenised equity venues that pitch continuous trading as their edge.
What this means
Regulatory & policy affairs
a CFTC-cleared route to continuous stock exposure gives institutions an alternative to tokenised spot equities for the always-on use case, so re-price how much of the tokenised-equity thesis rests on 24/7 trading versus on direct ownership and settlement.
Product ownertokenised equity
if continuous price exposure is available through a regulated perpetual, the tokenised-equity pitch has to lean harder on ownership rights, corporate actions and collateral mobility. Sharpen the differentiation accordingly.
Nvidia, Costco and Nike join pushback against OKX-ICE tokenised stock plans ↗
US
A widening set of named issuers is objecting to the OKX-ICE tokenised stock proposal, raising market-structure and consent questions about tokenising shares without the issuer's involvement. The objections cluster around who controls the issuer-sponsored token format, which is exactly the fault line the NYSE venue has tried to resolve by signing transfer agents that already hold issuer mandates.
What this means
Compliance, legal & risk
named-issuer resistance makes issuer consent a live legal question for any tokenised-equity venue that relies on third-party wrapping rather than an issuer-sponsored token. Map which model your venue depends on before the objection pattern hardens into a precedent.
Founder & strategy
the contrast between issuers objecting to OKX-ICE and transfer agents endorsing NYSE's format suggests the market is sorting toward issuer-sponsored tokens. Reconsider whether an unsponsored-wrapper approach has a durable path.

Infrastructure & custody

Five G-SIBs set up the Global Layer One Organisation to drive tokenisation standards ↗
UK
HSBC, Kinexys by JP Morgan, MUFG, Societe Generale FORGE and Standard Chartered have formed a non-profit, the Global Layer One Organisation, to develop and push common frameworks for tokenised markets, transitioning GL1 out of MAS and into industry hands after the original shared-ledger ambition gave way to agreeing on rules rather than building the rails. The two toolkits already published, a network-fitness checklist and a programmable-compliance framework, are the concrete output, and Euroclear worked on them but is not among the founders.
What this means
Infrastructure & platform
the GL1 toolkits are becoming the reference for assessing whether a network is fit to connect to and for embedding compliance into infrastructure, so benchmark your network and integration design against both rather than against a bespoke internal standard.
Regulatory & policy affairs
a bank-led standards body replacing a central-bank-led one shifts where tokenisation norms get set, which changes who to engage. Note that Euroclear contributed but stayed out of the founding group, a signal worth reading about market-infrastructure alignment.
NYSE adds Computershare, Equiniti and Broadridge to its tokenised securities venue ↗
US
The NYSE has signed Computershare and Equiniti, the two largest transfer agents, plus Broadridge and Superstate, bringing its roster to six alongside Securitize and tZERO, so most large-cap issuers now have an existing provider able to mint issuer-sponsored tokens for the venue, subject to regulatory approval. In a parallel move Broadridge will carry shareholder voting onto the tokenised rails, closing the corporate-actions gap that has dogged tokenised equity, and Equiniti's participation confirms an interoperability path with Bullish, which acquired it.
What this means
Infrastructure & platform
with incumbent transfer agents serving close to 5,000 issuers accepting NYSE's format, the venue's rulebook is hardening into a de facto standard for tokenised equities, so design issuance and corporate-actions integration to that format rather than a competing one.
Product ownertokenised equity
Broadridge bringing shareholder voting on-chain removes a structural objection to tokenised stock, namely that token holders could not exercise governance rights. Fold proxy voting into the product spec now that the plumbing exists.
Compliance, legal & risk
issuer-sponsored tokens minted by the issuer's own transfer agent sit on firmer consent ground than third-party wrappers, which is the fault line the OKX-ICE objections expose. Reconsider which model carries less legal risk for your venue.
Eurex makes the ESM's EUR 1bn digital bond eligible for repo and margin ↗
EU
The ESM's EUR 1 billion digital bond, settled 2 November 2026, is now eligible for Eurex Repo as general collateral and as margin collateral at Eurex Clearing, which Eurex calls the first time a traditional CCP has supported a hybrid of conventional and digital securities. Clearstream acted as CSD using its D7 DLT infrastructure and settled issuance in central bank money via Pontes, after which the bond lives in Cascade for conventional secondary trading, a design that sidesteps the thin-liquidity problem a CCP cannot tolerate in eligible collateral.
What this means
Collateral & funding desk
a digital bond that clears Eurex's eligibility gate and sits in the ECB general-collateral basket is financeable through the clearing relationship you already hold, so revisit haircut and liquidity assumptions for digital-native paper before a counterparty offers it as margin.
Infrastructure & platform
the digital-at-issuance, conventional-thereafter design is the pattern that got this bond past CCP eligibility where pure on-chain issuances stalled on secondary liquidity. Weigh that hybrid architecture against a fully native approach for anything meant to serve as collateral.
Regulatory & policy affairs
eligibility flows from the Eurosystem's decision to accept CSD-issued digital securities as collateral, so track how that precedent extends to issuers beyond the ESM and whether a Luxembourg listing becomes the expected liquidity support.

Worth watching next

Whether the HKMA‘s 24/7 tokenised central bank money capability draws more issuers into Ensemble TX and how quickly Standard Chartered‘s new Hong Kong tokenised deposits plug into the always-on settlement leg.
Who steps in to provide weekend liquidity for tokenised MMF redemptions outside dealing windows, after HSBC and Franklin Templeton showed the Uber flow but left the liquidity-provider question open.
Whether the OKX-ICE issuer objections harden into a consent precedent that forces all tokenised-equity venues toward the issuer-sponsored model the NYSE roster has adopted.
The ESM digital bond’s secondary trading in Cascade and its expected Luxembourg Stock Exchange listing, as the test of whether hybrid-issuance collateral holds liquidity in practice.

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Editorially independent. Not investment advice.