Collaboration between France and Hong Kong on CBDC and tokenization: memorandum of understanding signed for interoperability between the two technological infrastructures.
The Banque de France (BDF) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a wholesale CBDC and asset tokenization. Through the agreement, the two institutions aim to explore the interoperability of their respective CBDC infrastructures and the efficiency of cross-border transactions.
The two infrastructures
The BDF has developed an infrastructure called DL3S, designed for the introduction of a wholesale CBDC. The HKMA will use the sandbox environment of Project Ensemble to test tokenization use cases, such as the settlement of tokenized real-world assets.
Project Ensemble is an initiative launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to support the development of the tokenization market in Hong Kong. The project aims to explore an infrastructure that facilitates interoperability and interbank settlement of tokenized money through the use of a CBDC.
The main participants in Project Ensemble are the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), major local banks, the cryptocurrency exchange HashKey, Ant Digital Technologies, and Microsoft Hong Kong.
Regarding the agreement reached, Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor of the BDF, stated:
“The HKMA’s recent announcement for the launch of Project Ensemble was very timely to initiate this cooperation. We look forward to further testing our DL3S platform in this context.”
