Hong Kong banks take lead on what e-HKD will look like: source

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Hong Kong is stepping up efforts to develop its own central bank digital currency this year, but the regulator has left the nature of the ledger itself entirely centralized or decentralized to banks.

At least one major bank is considering developing an e-HKD on a permissioned blockchain, a bank official told CoinDesk.

Unlike the People’s Bank of Chinas e-CNY, the Hong Kong Central Bank’s (CBDC) digital currency architecture was not dictated by the central government, the Hong Kong-based bank official said. , who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.

The regulator left implementation to Hong Kong banks. They are allowed to review and search and then offer back, the source said.

e-HKD will likely be developed without the public deciding what they really want, the source added.

Whether e-HKD is issued on a chain with or without permission has huge security and privacy implications.

On a permissionless chain, while authorities could require banks to freeze accounts, if the person in question withdraws assets from a wallet in safekeeping, authorities cannot seize the assets. On an authorized chain, the authorities could seize these assets.

Hong Kong is currently a cash-rich society where hailing a taxi usually requires cash.

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