- The milestone was announced by HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery on November 2.
- HSBC launched RedCoin on PayMe, serving over 3.3M Hong Kong users via its app.
- Unlike public market tokens, RedCoin runs exclusively on HSBC’s private ledger.
HSBC’s RedCoin, a stablecoin pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, has gained 50,000 users in a little over a week, marking an early milestone in the bank’s expansion into digital payments.
On November 2, HSBC Group CEO Georges Elhedery shared the number at Hong Kong FinTech Week. He pointed to how regulated stablecoins could reach everyday users through big, established banks.
The bank launched RedCoin (RCHKD) on October 23 through PayMe, its own payment app, which is used by over 3.3 million people in Hong Kong. Inside the app, customers can set up a RedCoin wallet to send tokens to other people and pay merchants that accept it.
Each token is meant to be swapped one-for-one for Hong Kong dollars. HSBC says it’s fully backed by high-quality, liquid assets kept separate from the bank’s other holdings. Unlike the stablecoins usually traded on public crypto markets, RedCoin runs on HSBC’s own private ledger.
HSBC plans to widen access through its Hong Kong mobile banking app and let people use RedCoin to sign up for tokenized investment products, which could give the token a purpose beyond everyday payments.
Hong Kong’s Effort to Integrate Digital Money Into Everyday Financial Services
Hitting 50,000 users shows that adding stablecoins to familiar, everyday payment apps makes it much easier for people to try out crypto. However, simply signing up for an account doesn’t reveal how often people actually use RedCoin or whether that initial growth will last.
That said, on November 2, the bank reported about HK$87.75 million (roughly $11.2 million) of RedCoin in circulation, backed by HK$88.75 million in reserves. Still, those figures only show a snapshot of issuance and backing.
The wider market is moving forward too, since on November 2, Hong Kong’s central bank (the HKMA) shared an update on Project EnsembleTX, announcing that banks can now settle tokenized deposit transactions around the clock using official digital central bank money.
This project is built to make instant payments easier for corporate money management and the trading of tokenized assets.
Related: Solana Partners With Anchorpoint to Bring Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin Onchain
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