Bank of China’s BOCI Issues Tokenized Securities on Ethereum in Hong Kong

The Bank of China’s investment banking arm BOCI issued tokenized securities on Ethereum in Hong Kong, according to a Monday press release.

BOCI offered CNH 200 million ($28 million) of structured notes, with Swiss banking giant UBS underwriting the issuance and placing with clients in Asia Pacific.

This was the first time a Chinese financial institution issued tokenized securities on a public blockchain in Hong Kong, the BOCI press release said.

Major banks like Citigroup and Bank of America have predicted that the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) – an umbrella term for traditional financial products such as notes and bonds – can boost crypto adoption and drive trillions of dollars in value to blockchains.

This BOCI transaction also underscores Hong Kong’s growing ambition as a key hub for crypto as the industry faces mounting regulatory pressure in the United States. Indeed, just days after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Coinbase for offering unregistered securities, Hong Kong legislator Johnny Ng invited digital asset trading platforms – including Coinbase – to set up shop in the city.

“We are encouraged by the evolution of Hong Kong's digital economy and are committed to promoting the digital transformation and innovative development of Hong Kong's financial industry,” Ying Wang, deputy chief executive at BOCI, said in a statement.