The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has released a Phase II report on its "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" pilot program, outlining the results and lessons learned from the trials. The HKMA stated that it will continue to advance policy, legal, and technical preparatory work to prepare for the potential rollout of the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" for individual and corporate use in Hong Kong. These preparatory work is expected to be completed by the first half of 2026, and the timing of the expansion of the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" will be adjusted based on international developments, latest technological advancements, and market demand. The report indicates that the 11 Phase II trials cover three key innovative use cases: tokenized asset settlement, programmability, and offline payments. The HKMA stated that demand for the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" is currently concentrated outside of retail scenarios, and that future priority will be on developing the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" for wholesale use and promoting its use by financial institutions for payments. Some financial institutions are already using the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" in certain use cases to support the development of the tokenized ecosystem and cross-border payment scenarios, such as international trade settlement. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will release a set of common tokenization standards to promote the widespread application of programmability in digital currencies. These standards aim to lay the foundation for the future development and application of "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" to meet the payment needs of individuals and businesses in Hong Kong. (Zhitong Finance)