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Hong Kong is set to witness the launch of the first tokenized retail money market fund in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of February, with China Asset Management Hong Kong (ChinaAMC HK) leading the initiative, according to a statement by the bank on Friday.
Tokenized money market funds are gaining traction as a crucial segment within the broader digital asset ecosystem. By leveraging blockchain technology, these funds offer enhanced liquidity, increased transparency, and lower operational costs. The adoption of tokenized financial instruments is seen as a key driver in the expansion of institutional crypto adoption, bridging the gap between traditional finance and digital assets.
While this marks a first for Asia, similar offerings have already emerged in Western markets. In the United States, major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have pioneered tokenized money market funds on public blockchains like Ethereum and Stellar. These funds have demonstrated how blockchain can streamline settlement processes and provide investors with real-time insights into their holdings. The success of such initiatives in the West has helped validate the model, encouraging adoption in other financial hubs such as Hong Kong.
ChinaAMC HK’s upcoming fund underscores this shift, providing retail investors with a blockchain-based investment vehicle that aims to streamline fund distribution and improve accessibility to money market products.
Standard Chartered’s Role in the Initiative
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) is supporting ChinaAMC HK as the fund’s digital asset service provider, with its subsidiary, Standard Chartered Trustee (Hong Kong) Limited, acting as the Open-Ended Fund Company custodian. The initiative is powered by Libeara, an SC Ventures-incubated tokenization platform, which enables fund tokenization, fiduciary oversight, custody, and fund administration, the announcement said.
"Standard Chartered believes that digital assets are fundamentally transforming the ecosystem of the financial markets," Mary Huen, CEO of Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia at Standard Chartered, said, highlighting the significance of this launch in reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as a global digital assets hub.
This development follows Standard Chartered’s broader efforts to establish a global footprint in digital asset custody. The bank has already launched digital asset custody services in the UAE and Luxembourg, signaling its commitment to facilitating institutional access to digital financial products.
“This is another testimony of how our award-winning custody and fund administration services enable clients to unlock rising new opportunities. And this is just the beginning of an important journey,” Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of financing and securities services at Standard Chartered, noted.
