HSBC introduces gold token for retail investors in HK

HSBC has introduced a gold token to revolutionise gold products for everyday investors in Hong Kong, marking the first time HSBC's private distributed ledger is being used to tokenise a retail investment product. 

Powered by HSBC Orion, the bank’s digital assets platform, the gold token is available via HSBC Online Banking and HSBC HK mobile app. HSBC Gold Token is the first of a series of retail products that will be powered by HSBC's digital assets platform. 

This comes as HSBC aims to be at the forefront of digital assets and asset tokenisation, previously using HSBC Orion to launch digital bonds in Hong Kong and Luxembourg, and to tokenise physical gold in London for institutional investors. 

Maggie Ng, general manager and head of wealth and personal banking, Hong Kong, HSBC said: “As the bank of Hong Kong, we are dedicated to supporting and accelerating Hong Kong’s digital asset agenda. We are proud that HSBC Gold Token, powered by HSBC Orion, is the first retail product in Hong Kong that is based on distributed ledger technology, as authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission. We acknowledge the rising demand for digital assets and the existing familiarity of our customers with gold investment.”

Sami Abouzahr, head of investments and wealth solutions, wealth and personal banking, Hong Kong, HSBC, added: “Asset tokenisation can enable convenient, affordable and broad access to real world and financial assets, in this case the HSBC Gold Token. Digital investing is an exciting area of wealth management and aligns with our commitment to bringing more valuable investment opportunities to more of our customers.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to HSBC for more information. 

In fact, asset tokenisation has emerged as a growing trend in the financial industry. The combined market capitalisation of tokenised gold assets has surpassed US$1 billion since 2023, according to data by crypto price tracker CoinGecko.

Tokenised gold is a form of stablecoin that links its value to gold, with blockchain tokens symbolising ownership of physical gold under the issuer's management. It provides investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to the valuable metal without incurring management fees associated with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or the responsibility of safeguarding physical gold bullions.

As of now, the two largest gold stablecoins are pax gold (PAXG), issued by the New York-based fintech firm Paxos Trust Company, and tether gold (XAUT) by Tether. The market cap of PAXG and XAUT is US$518 million and US$499 million respectively, according to CoinGecko data.

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