The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
HSBC said it had launched the HSBC Gold Token, fractional ownership of gold bars in HSBC's vault recorded on its private HSBC Orion ledger, for retail customers in Hong Kong through online and mobile banking.
- Status
- Live
- Announced
- (announcement)
- Stage
- Production (was Pilot)
- Chain or network
- HSBC Orion (private)
- Next review
Scorecard
As of the review on . Changes since the previous review are marked. How pilots are scored
| Ledger | Private ledger |
|---|---|
| Settlement | Off-ledger cash |
| Access | Open |
| Legal standing | Unclear |
| Scale | Repeat (was Single transaction) |
What they said they would do
- OpenHSBC Gold Token is the first of a series of retail products that will be powered by HSBC's digital assets platform.
Decisions
Expanded
HSBC let retail customers in Hong Kong transfer Gold Tokens instantly to other HSBC customers by mobile number; until then tokens could only be traded with the bank.
Source: hsbc.com
Review history
Live Pilot
Launched to retail customers through HSBC's apps, under an SFC-authorised brochure. Tokens are bought from and sold to HSBC only. HSBC does not say whether the ledger entry or a separate record is the legal title to the gold.
Evidence: about.hsbc.com.hk
Live Production
Offered continuously to Hong Kong retail customers for two and a half years, with customer-to-customer transfers added on 4 February 2026. That meets repeat scale and production. HSBC publishes no token volumes or holder counts. No other HSBC retail product on Orion found.
Evidence: hsbc.com, about.hsbc.com.hk
What was announced
On 27 March 2024 HSBC launched the HSBC Gold Token for retail customers in Hong Kong, available through HSBC Online Banking and the HSBC HK Mobile App. HSBC called it the first tokenised real-world asset issued by a bank for retail investors and the first Hong Kong retail product based on distributed ledger technology authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). It also said the token was the first of a series of retail products to run on its digital assets platform.
How it works
Each token represents 0.001 troy ounce of gold held in bars in HSBC’s vault. The tokens are recorded on HSBC Orion, the private ledger HSBC also uses for digital bonds, including the Hong Kong government’s tokenised green bonds, so ledger is private. Customers pay from their HSBC accounts, so settlement is offchain. Any HSBC retail customer in Hong Kong can buy, so access is open. HSBC describes the token as fractional ownership of physical gold but does not say whether the Orion record is the legal title or mirrors one held elsewhere, so legal is unclear.
Record so far
At launch, customers could buy and sell only with HSBC. The record is one product on one bank’s ledger, so the launch review records single scale and stage pilot.
From 4 February 2026, HSBC added transfers: retail customers can send tokens instantly to other HSBC customers using a mobile number, which HSBC marketed for Lunar New Year gifts. Linklaters, which advised HSBC, also reported a shorter settlement cycle. The product has been offered without an end date for two and a half years and now supports customer-to-customer flow, so scale is repeat and the stage production. HSBC has published no volumes; a press report of US$1 billion traded is not HSBC’s figure and is not used here.
The claim of a series of retail products on the same platform is open. HSBC acts as tokenisation agent for Hang Seng’s tokenised gold ETF class and CSOP’s tokenised money market ETF class, but those are other issuers’ funds, not HSBC retail products.
What to watch
A second HSBC retail product on Orion would meet the claim. Published token volumes would move scale to sustained. Transfers to non-HSBC wallets would change access and ledger.