Asset tokenisation in the Quantum Age

Asset tokenisation is not just an emerging trend, but a transformative force that's already reshaping the financial services industry. HSBC has been at the forefront of this revolution, becoming the first global bank to offer tokenised physical gold to institutional investors using distributed ledger technology (DLT). The bank also launched the HSBC Gold Token for retail investors in Hong Kong SAR leveraging its Orion digital asset platform.

Recognising the potential cyber threats posed by the development of powerful quantum computers, HSBC is assessing ways to future-proof its technology systems using quantum-secure technologies. This approach is aimed at protecting the cryptographic systems that underpin asset tokenisation, thereby mitigating the risk of security and integrity compromise of tokenised assets.

In a significant milestone, HSBC in collaboration with Quantinuum, successfully trialled the first application of quantum-secure technology for distributing tokenised physical gold. This is the latest step in HSBC’s exploration to safeguard critical applications from future quantum computing attacks.