Standard Chartered Plc bank branch in Hong Kong
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Bill Winters, CEO of Chartered standardforecasts a future in which almost all global transactions will be conducted on a digital blockchain ledger, he told a crowd in Hong Kong on Monday, as crypto adoption by major banking and financial institutions grows.
“Our belief, which I think is shared by Hong Kong leaders, is that virtually all transactions will eventually be settled on blockchains and all money will be digital,” the CEO of the UK-based multinational bank said during a panel at Hong Kong FinTech Week.
“Think about what that means: a complete overhaul of the financial system,” he said, adding that experimentation is needed to determine what that overhaul looks like.
Chartered standard – which is listed in both London and Hong Kong – has increased its involvement in digital assets in recent years, including through digital asset custody services, trading platforms and tokenized products.
Winters made the comments while discussing Hong Kong’s role in the global digital assets space, crediting the city for its leadership in experimentation and regulation, alongside Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan.
Hong Kong is working to establish itself as a regional crypto hub through a digital asset licensing regime, as well as tokenization pilots in which Standard Chartered is participating.
A tokenized asset is a digital representation of a real-world asset, such as stocks, bonds, or commodities, that can be recorded and traded on a blockchain or distributed ledger. Stablecoins, which are tied to a currency, are often touted as one of the first examples of tradable token assets.
Standard Chartered, in partnership with blockchain venture capital firm Animoca Brands and telecommunications company HKT, plans to launch a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin under a new regulatory framework launched by the city in August.
Winters said on Monday that he believes Hong Kong dollar stablecoins can represent an interesting new medium of exchange for international trade on digital terms.
Other global fintech leaders have also made bullish forecasts for tokenized assets in recent months.
Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev said last month that tokenization was a “freight train” that would arrive in most major markets over the next five years.
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, said in April that every asset from stocks to bonds to real estate could be tokenized, which would represent a “revolution” for investing.
