[Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Seven Banks Plan to Launch Tokenized Deposits This Year] Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Assistant Chief Executive Joe Wong stated that the HKMA has received intentions from seven banks to launch tokenized deposits within this year. In response to market rumors that the HKMA is temporarily halting the retail application of the digital Hong Kong dollar, HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Howard Lee clarified that the use of stablecoins in retail has not been ruled out, and the actual application will be determined by commercial institutions. Howard Lee added that the digital Hong Kong dollar, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits share similar technical characteristics, but differ in issuers. The digital Hong Kong dollar is a public currency, while tokenized deposits and stablecoins are private currencies. The digital Hong Kong dollar and tokenized deposits tend to use private chains, whereas stablecoins are mostly issued on public chains.