LME Studies Tokenized Hong Kong Metal Stocks for Loan Collateral

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is considering digital representations of metal stock in Hong Kong storage facilities without warehouse warrants, a step aimed at opening collateral use for lending and other financing.

The exploration is at an early stage. It focuses on inventory that has not been issued a warehouse warrant. Metals with warrants already have standardized financing mechanisms, while the stock under consideration lacks mature financing channels.

The idea is to represent that inventory as digital assets that lenders could accept as collateral for loans or other financing. The project aligns with Hong Kong’s effort to develop an international commodities trading hub.

People familiar with the matter said LME plans a closed industry roundtable in early November to discuss the proposal. Separately, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which owns LME, is testing carbon credit tokenization to support settlement close to real time.