The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published a white paper on a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) titled “e-HKD: A Technical Perspective”.<\/p>\n
According to the press release<\/a>, the document forms part of research into the technical aspects of CBDC.<\/p>\n The regulator noted that in June 2021 it announced the Fintech 2025 strategy, one of the main directions of which is the study of digital currency<\/a> with a view to its readiness for deployment.<\/p>\n In addition to collaborating with other central banks on cross-border use of CBDC<\/a>, the HKMA has begun exploring the prospects for issuing a retail digital currency in Hong Kong (e-HKD<\/span>). The HKMA’s partner is BIS<\/span>.<\/p>\n In the white paper the regulator outlined potential technical architectures for issuing and distributing retail CBDCs and presented an architecture that includes \u201ca novel mechanism for preserving transaction privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The HKMA envisions a two-tier system for such assets: a wholesale layer for issuing and redeeming CBDC by the central bank, and a retail layer for distribution by commercial institutions in the form of digital money.<\/p>\n The regulator also listed a number of questions for further study of the digital currency, inviting academics and industry practitioners to share views and comments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe white paper marks the first step in our technical research for the e-HKD. The knowledge gained from this work, together with the experience we have gained in other CBDC projects, will help underpin further consideration and discussion of the e-HKD,\u201d said Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Earlier, BIS, in a joint study with a group of central banks, concluded that for CBDC effectiveness cooperation between the public and private sectors <\/a> is required.<\/p>\n Drawing on results obtained during the mBridge project (formerly Inthanon-LionRock<\/a>), specialists said that the use of digital currencies in cross-border payments could reduce transaction times to seconds <\/a> and cut their costs by 50%.<\/p>\n E-HKD a Technical Perspective<\/a> by ForkLog<\/a> on Scribd<\/p>\n\n