Lee: Digital finance needs trust and interoperability
Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, delivered a keynote speech at the Hong Kong Digital Finance Summit on May 29, 2026. He emphasized that trust and interoperability are the core institutional challenges in the evolving digital finance landscape.
HKMA's three digital finance pillars
The HKMA's digital finance strategy rests on three pillars.
First, providing central bank money in new forms, exemplified by the e-HKD and Project mBridge, which reached minimum viable product in mid-2024.
This ensures central bank money remains an effective settlement asset.
Second, establishing guardrails for private sector innovation, promoting competition, user protection, and systemic stability.
Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance, effective last August, and two recently granted issuer licenses demonstrate this.
Third, building common infrastructure for interoperability, such as Project Ensemble, to connect diverse platforms and ensure universal acceptability of money.
This decade-long journey began with DLT whitepapers in 2016, anticipating structural changes in financial asset issuance and settlement.
Bridging the digital divide
Two significant challenges persist for the future of tokenisation.
The first is the gap between the current "digital twin" model, where tokens represent claims on off-chain assets, and the desired "digitally native" issuance, where the token itself is the primary record of ownership.
While current infrastructure like Ensemble TX pragmatically leverages existing RTGS, the ultimate goal is full DLT efficiency with atomic DvP.
The second challenge is fragmentation, as isolated platforms undermine efficiency.
Addressing this requires interoperability and common standards, which the Ensemble Interoperability Layer and the upcoming Ensemble Taxonomy aim to provide.
Beyond technology, trust
Trust in digital finance hinges not on technology alone, but on sound institutions, clear rules, and robust collaboration.
The HKMA's proactive engagement, including the CBDC Expert Group with academia, exemplifies this comprehensive approach to complex challenges.
This collaborative spirit across central banks, commercial banks, regulators, and academia is crucial for fully realizing the promise of tokenisation.