Bill Winters, the CEO of Standard Chartered, believes the future of money will be fully digital and built on blockchain infrastructure.

Speaking at the Hong Kong FinTech Week, reports CNBC, Winters said that “pretty much all transactions will settle on blockchains eventually,” signalling a radical shift in how global finance could operate.

The statement reflects both the accelerating integration of digital assets into traditional banking and Hong Kong’s growing position as a global testing ground for tokenised finance.

Standard Chartered has been steadily increasing its involvement in digital assets, positioning itself at the intersection of regulated banking and blockchain innovation.

In July 2025, it became the first global systemically important bank to launch a fully integrated trading platform for institutional clients, enabling spot trading of Bitcoin and Ether through its UK branch.

The platform allows clients to transact via familiar foreign exchange interfaces and settle through their chosen custodians.

The bank plans to add non-deliverable forwards for crypto assets in the coming months, bridging traditional financial systems with blockchain-based settlement.

Earlier this year, the bank also expanded its custody operations in Europe under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, reinforcing its position as one of the few global banks offering regulated crypto custody across multiple jurisdictions.

At the same time, as per CNBC, Winters described the ongoing digital shift as a “complete rewiring of the financial system” that will require experimentation to define its eventual shape.

The move is both offensive and defensive: offensive in capturing emerging markets for digital assets, and defensive in ensuring banks are not disintermediated by decentralised alternatives.

Hong Kong is fast-tracking its ambition to become a regional centre for tokenised finance.

Regulators have introduced a pilot framework that allows locally licensed virtual asset trading platforms to share order books with global affiliates and expand access for professional investors.

Stablecoins and newly launched tokens are also being allowed under specific regulatory criteria to deepen market liquidity.

According to CNBC, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s “Fintech 2030” roadmap places data integration, artificial intelligence, and tokenisation at the core of its financial innovation strategy.

Standard Chartered’s active participation in these pilots aligns closely with the city’s objectives, highlighting the growing partnership between regulators and global banks in advancing digital asset adoption.

The bank is also collaborating with blockchain venture capital firm Animoca Brands and telecommunications company HKT to develop a Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin under the city’s new regulatory framework introduced in August.

The stablecoin aims to facilitate faster and cheaper cross-border payments and could provide a new medium of exchange for international trade.

For Standard Chartered, whose strength lies in cross-border trade across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, the adoption of blockchain-based settlement systems represents a natural evolution of its business model.

Winters said, states CNBC, services such as foreign exchange, payments, and even trade finance will eventually move onto distributed ledgers, allowing near-instant settlement and reducing counterparty risks.

By offering institutional clients access to regulated digital asset services within a banking structure, the bank aims to capture demand currently met by unregulated or offshore platforms.

This convergence of traditional finance with blockchain could reshape how money moves across borders and how financial contracts are settled.

Despite the optimism, the transition to blockchain-based finance faces significant hurdles. Global regulatory standards for tokenised assets and stablecoins remain fragmented.

Risk frameworks for custody, data security, and transaction settlement are still evolving. Moreover, interoperability between public and private blockchains remains a technical challenge.

Winters acknowledged that the process will be gradual and experimental, notes CNBC.

The timeline for achieving widespread blockchain settlement will depend on regulatory convergence, institutional readiness, and the development of scalable infrastructure.

For now, Standard Chartered’s experiments in Hong Kong and London serve as early models for how large banks can engage with digital assets responsibly within existing legal frameworks.

Winters’ comments reflect an inflection point for global finance. What began as isolated pilots in tokenisation and crypto custody is maturing into systemic integration between banks and digital asset ecosystems.

The eventual outcome could be a world where transactions in equities, bonds, and currencies all settle on distributed ledgers, and where stablecoins represent digital equivalents of fiat currencies across borders.

As Hong Kong pushes to establish itself as Asia’s leading crypto and fintech hub, Standard Chartered’s initiatives suggest that mainstream finance is no longer observing blockchain innovation from the sidelines—it is building directly within it.

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