
The Digital Asset Clearing Center (DACC.HK) and the Hong Kong Economic Council have released a whitepaper outlining the infrastructure requirements for a functional tokenised bond market. This collaboration addresses critical post-trade challenges such as settlement finality, atomic delivery-versus-payment, and the legal standing of tokenised claims. While Hong Kong previously issued a HK$800 million tokenised green bond via Goldman Sachs, the market currently lacks the necessary clearing layer to transition from proof-of-concept to liquid secondary trading. By focusing on institutional-grade clearing, DACC aims to reduce risk and attract liquidity currently held in government paper or stablecoins. This development highlights Hong Kong's strategic effort to capture the growing RWA market, which surpassed $20 billion on-chain in June. The city's structured regulatory approach, supported by the SFC's November 2023 circular, offers a distinct alternative to the regulatory uncertainty currently observed in the United States. Ultimately, the establishment of a credible clearing house could provide the institutional confidence required to scale tokenised debt globally.
DACC.HK functions as a digital asset clearing centre, providing the post-trade infrastructure necessary for institutional investors to manage on-chain financial instruments. Clearing houses act as intermediaries that mitigate counterparty risk by ensuring that trades are settled correctly and that assets are delivered against payment. In the context of tokenised bonds, these entities are essential for achieving the settlement finality and legal certainty required by traditional financial institutions.