File photo/ Zhang Jian (NBD)

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on May 18 the launch of a pilot program for digital currency "e-HKD", with 16 selected companies from the financial, payment and technology sectors conducting the first round of trials within this year.

The trial will delve into the potential use cases of e-HKD in six categories, including comprehensive payment, programmable payment, offline payment, tokenized deposits, third-generation Internet (Web3) transaction settlement, and tokenized asset settlement.

Through repeated trials, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority can draw practical experience from the results of each trial and improve the way e-HKD may be implemented.

Arthur Yuen, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said that although the authority has not decided whether or when to launch e-HKD, the pilot program is a good opportunity for the authority and the industry to explore innovative use cases and prepare for the possible launch of e-HKD in the future.

It is reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is preparing for the possible launch of digital currency, namely e-HKD, through a three-track approach, and the pilot program launched this time is an important part of the second track.