The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has set up the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Expert Group to foster collaboration on CBDC research. They also partnered with five major universities in Hong Kong to be a part of the group.
The goal of the CBDC Expert Group is to bring together professionals from various fields like business, computer science, and law to help HKMA learn more about digital currencies.
The group will help the HKMA study and understand the important policy and technical issues around CBDC. They will also offer advice, training, and workshops on CBDC and related fintech topics.
The five universities involved are the Chinese University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of Hong Kong.
People are joining this group as individuals, and the group’s member list can be found on HKMA’s website. HKMA might also invite experts from universities around the world to join later on.
The group has already started working on two research papers. The first paper is about privacy issues pertaining to CBDC. It will examine the efficacy of different types of privacy-enhancing technologies.
The second paper will discuss the interoperability of CBDCs, and examine the viability of blockchain technologies and related standards in facilitating compatibility between different CBDC implementations.
Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA said,
“The HKMA has been actively fostering government-industry-academia collaboration in CBDC research. We are pleased to join forces with leading academic experts as part of our exploration of key policy and technical issues surrounding wholesale and retail CBDCs.
The CBDC Expert Group will serve as a crucial component in reinforcing Hong Kong’s forefront position in CBDC research.”
Featured image: Colin Pou, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (fourth from left, front row), signs Memorandums of Understanding with five local universities whose faculty members are participants of the Central Bank Digital Currency Expert Group.
