Retail investors in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland said they would invest more in funds if tokenized products with faster settlement and 24/7 access were available, according to a new report from Aptos Labs, Boston Consulting Group, and Hang Seng Bank.
The report is based on a Hong Kong pilot that tested tokenized funds settled using programmable digital money. In a survey of 500 retail investors across Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, 61% said they would double their fund allocations if tokenized funds were available.
Nearly all respondents (~97%) said they were interested in features such as instant settlement, around-the-clock access, and more transparency. Meanwhile, around 71% said access to 24/7 secondary trading would make them more likely to invest.
These findings highlight how strongly investors value practical features – maybe even more so than the specific technology used to deliver them. They also highlight that interest in tokenization has been steadily growing worldwide, with major banks and financial firms increasing their focus on tokenized products.
The global tokenized real-world asset market currently stands at about $23 billion, up more than 13% over the past month, according to data from RWAxyz.
“Our conclusion is simple: Token-based infrastructure is both technically viable and commercially attractive, linking clear investor demand to the next generation of financial infrastructure,” the report reads. “That said, as regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits mature, demand for CBDC in retail scenarios may be limited.”
The findings also found little difference in investor preference between different types of digital money (i.e. central bank digital currencies, tokenized bank deposits, or regulated stablecoins) as long as they offer the same features and operate under legal frameworks.
Tokenized funds are already available in Hong Kong, but most products are currently limited to subscriptions and redemptions, while secondary trading is mostly unavailable, the report said.
The report was published as Hong Kong continues to expand its digital asset framework. A report from Amina Group identified Hong Kong as one of Asia’s most active regulated digital asset hubs. Moreover, despite crypto trading restrictions on the mainland, an estimated 78 million Chinese citizens hold cryptocurrencies.