Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Standard Chartered CEO Backs Tokenized Finance in Hong Kong
Tokenization | Nov 3, 2025
Image: Freepik/lifeforstock
Standard Chartered CEO Backs Tokenized Finance In Hong Kong
On November 3, 2025, speaking at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025 (Nov 3-7), Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters told attendees that the bank is working with regulators and infrastructure providers across Asia to make tokenized settlements operational.
“Our belief, which I think is shared by the leadership of Hong Kong, is that pretty much all transactions will settle on blockchains eventually, and that all money will be digital,” adding that institutional adoption is now driving the market.
See: Crypto Finance Finding Scale and Clarity in 2025
Digital currency momentum is building across Asia. According to Quartr, during Standard Chartered’s Q3 2025 earnings call, he emphasized that blockchain and tokenized asset infrastructure are “a core part of our payments and securities business strategy.” The bank’s venture arm SC Ventures has invested in settlement platforms and digital asset custody providers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE to prepare for institutional scale.
Tokenization Becomes Core Financial Infrastructure
Hong Kong’s digital finance policy is moving from experimentation to scale. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) circular on expanding virtual asset trading platform services removes earlier barriers for banks and licensed exchanges to issue and custody tokenized securities under supervision. It also aligns with Hong Kong’s new stablecoin licensing regime, which took effect on August 1 2025, creating a pathway for licensed entities to offer regulated stablecoins towards broader public access.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue unveiled the city’s Fintech 2030 strategy built on four pillars. Data, AI, Resilience, and Tokenization (DART) and announced the next phase of the Project Ensemble pilot (read his full speech here).
The pilot now extends beyond proof-of-concept to real transactions in tokenized deposits and money-market funds between major banks and corporates. Yue said tokenization will make bond settlement and trade finance “faster, cheaper, and safer” while preparing the city for cross-border interoperability.
Implications for Canada
Hong Kong’s strategic approach shows how regulatory clarity and infrastructure readiness can draw investment and accelerate industry innovation. The model offers a blueprint for Canada to move beyond regulatory sandboxes and innovation hubs toward supervised tokenized settlement and digital-asset custody frameworks built into the financial system.
See: NCFA Canada and TheBlock Partner to Build a Global Bridge for Tokenization
For Canadian fintechs and banks, staying competitive will depend on how quickly policymakers complete payment modernization, establish clear rules for stablecoins and tokenized assets, and open Payments Canada’s systems to more participants through the Real-Time Rail.
Remember, Standard Chartered is already building tokenized-finance capabilities across Asia. Institutions will need to update their core systems to benefit from faster cross-border and digital settlement and to connect with the growing global networks for tokenized finance.
Outlook
The SFC and HKMA frameworks create one of the world’s most coordinated environments for institutional blockchain adoption and banks like Standard Chartered are positioning themselves to capitalize on that alignment.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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