HSBC has unveiled a platform that uses distributed ledger technology to tokenise the ownership of institutional clients’ physical gold held in the bank’s London vault.
In brief:
-HSBC creates a ‘digital twin’ of an existing physical asset - specifically loco London gold that is custodied in its vault.
-The tokenised physical gold can then be traded between HSBC and institutional investors through the bank's Evolve single dealer platform, or through an API.
-The tokenisation generates a permissioned digital representation of clients’ physical gold holdings, which is integrated into HSBC’s operational infrastructure, including Evolve
What does this mean?
John O’Neill, global head, digital assets strategy, markets and securities services, HSBC, says: "In addition to demand for native digital assets, we are seeing appetite for tokenisation solutions that can maintain a link to specific real-world use cases, such as gold."
