HSBC (Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is one of the world's largest financial institutions, founded in 1865 in Hong Kong to finance trade between Europe and Asia. Headquartered in London since 1991, the bank reported total assets of approximately $3 trillion as of 2024, making it among the largest banks globally by assets under management. HSBC operates across 60+ countries and serves around 41 million customers worldwide.
Unlike pure-play crypto venture funds, HSBC approaches digital assets as a strategic extension of its core banking and capital markets business. The bank has publicly committed to asset tokenization as a priority, launching its proprietary HSBC Orion platform to issue tokenized bonds and structured products on distributed ledger infrastructure. In 2023, HSBC became one of the first global banks to offer a retail-accessible tokenized gold product – the HSBC Gold Token – listed on Hong Kong's stock exchange infrastructure. The bank has also participated in the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Project Guardian, a cross-institution initiative exploring tokenized fixed income and foreign exchange markets.
HSBC's stance on retail cryptocurrency remains cautious and, at times, restrictive. The bank has blocked credit card purchases of crypto assets in certain jurisdictions. Its institutional digital asset activity, however, has accelerated significantly since 2022, with tokenization of real-world assets representing the clearest strategic direction.
Notable investments
- Fnality International – HSBC is a founding shareholder of Fnality, a consortium-backed wholesale payment network designed to settle tokenized transactions using central bank money on-chain. Other founding members include Barclays, Santander, and UBS.
- HSBC Orion tokenization platform – internally developed infrastructure used to issue the world's first tokenized physical gold accessible to retail investors via the Hong Kong exchange, and to distribute tokenized bonds for clients including the Hong Kong SAR government.
- Project mBridge – HSBC has participated in the Bank for International Settlements' mBridge multi-CBDC cross-border payments pilot alongside central banks of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE.
- Metaco partnership – HSBC announced a digital asset custody arrangement with Metaco (subsequently acquired by Ripple) to hold tokenized securities for institutional clients.
Public information on the full list of HSBC's six portfolio companies (per available data) is limited beyond the confirmed positions above. HSBC does not publish a consolidated venture portfolio in the manner of dedicated crypto funds.
Team
HSBC appointed Georges Elhedery as Group Chief Executive in September 2024, succeeding Noel Quinn. Elhedery previously led HSBC's Global Banking and Markets division, where much of the bank's digital asset activity originated. The digital assets function sits within Global Banking and Markets, led internally by a team that has grown materially since 2021. John O'Neill and colleagues within the HSBC Orion team have led product development for tokenization. HSBC does not name a dedicated "Head of Crypto" in the public-facing manner typical of crypto-native firms.
Recent activity
- 2024: HSBC completed tokenized bond issuances for multiple sovereign and corporate clients via HSBC Orion, with the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation among notable participants.
- 2024: HSBC launched digital gold custody services for institutional clients in Hong Kong, alongside the retail Gold Token product.
- 2023–2024: Active participation in Project Guardian's fixed income and FX sub-groups, alongside JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered.
- 2025: HSBC continued expanding Orion capabilities into structured notes and trade finance instruments, targeting institutional clients in Asia and Europe.
HSBC's geographic focus for digital asset activity is concentrated in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Kingdom – jurisdictions with relatively clear regulatory frameworks for tokenized securities. The bank has been slower to engage in North American crypto markets, partly reflecting regulatory ambiguity in that region through 2024.
HSBC represents the archetype of a large incumbent bank moving deliberately into tokenization without embracing speculative crypto assets. Its strengths – regulatory relationships, balance sheet, and institutional client base – give it credibility in tokenized bonds and trade finance. Its conservatism, however, means it cedes ground to faster-moving competitors such as JPMorgan's Onyx platform and Franklin Templeton's on-chain money market funds. Whether HSBC can convert its Orion infrastructure into a durable market position in tokenized real-world assets remains the central question over the next three to five years. For further background, see Wall Street Journal coverage and HSBC's own Project portfolio
# Project Status 1 
Canton NetworkExpected