Hong Kong Plans 400-Ounce Gold Token for Interbank Transactions

Hong Kong plans an interbank token representing a standard 400-ounce gold bar, a move that would add bullion transactions to the city’s expanding tokenized financial infrastructure.

Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui announced the project Nov. 2. The token would use HAU as its price reference, with tokenized deposits supporting transactions between banks. Hui said, “our interbank tokenised gold transaction project is going to start soon,” but gave no launch date and did not identify an issuer. The announcement describes an interbank initiative and does not say whether individual investors would be able to access it.

HAU reflects indicative bid and offer prices contributed by gold market participants. The planned token would use that reference for its gold transactions.

Separately, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) expanded its EnsembleTX pilot Nov. 2. The pilot now supports 24/7 interbank settlement of tokenized deposit transactions in tokenized central bank money and includes 12 participating banks and 20 industry pioneers. EnsembleTX began in November 2025 as a controlled pilot using Hong Kong’s HKD Real Time Gross Settlement system. Hui did not say whether the gold transactions would use the expanded settlement capability.

The gold-token plan is also distinct from Hong Kong’s separate central clearing and settlement system for over-the-counter gold. That system began trial operations July 7, and its formal launch is targeted for the first quarter of 2027.