The Hong Kong Monetary Authority Warns the Public About Scam Digital Currency Trial Companies
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a public warning against scams that falsely implicate its e-HKD trial programs. The warning is issued at a time when Hong Kong is conducting many trial projects to investigate the feasibility of a digital currency issued by the central bank.
Some groups that claimed to be a part of the program seem to have made it into the public eye. Apparently posing as trial participants for the digital currency, these businesses presented products in an effort to entice investors.
The HKMA published a roster of the official pilot program participants to serve as a guide. Banking Corporation of Hong Kong, China Construction Bank, Alipay Financial Services, and Bank of China (Hong Kong) are among them.
The central bank made it clear that the e-HKD program’s participating firms would not be applying for any kind of public financing. They also have no plans to sell any financial products associated with these projects. In addition, the Hong Kong Police Force was informed about the related fraud instances.
Anyone who suspects fraud should contact the Hong Kong Police Force’s Commercial Crime Bureau. The second phase of the e-HKD pilot program was launched last week by the HKMA. Domestic retail application of the e-HKD was the primary emphasis of the first round of testing. Programmable payments, tokenized asset settlement, and offline transactions are all part of these characteristics.
The forthcoming second phase, which is planned to last until mid-2025, seeks to further investigate the functionalities of an electronic HKD. Programmability, tokenization, and atomic settlement, a method that guarantees transactions are either fully or partially completed, will be the main points of emphasis.
In the meantime, the HKMA has extended an application deadline of May 17 to organizations interested in applying.
Also, stablecoin issuers have access to the central bank’s new sandbox program. Its stated goal is to provide a risk-free setting where prospective issuers may test the waters with stablecoin ideas.
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