The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on the 23rd the launch of the second phase of the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" pilot program, further exploring innovative use cases for new digital currencies that can be used by individuals and businesses. Eleven selected institutions from different industries will explore innovative use cases of "digital Hong Kong dollars" and tokenized deposits in the three main themes of tokenized asset settlement, programmability, and offline payments in the second phase. The selected institutions will also study the commercial feasibility of new digital currencies that can be used by individuals and businesses in practical scenarios. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Yu Weiwen, stated that the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" pilot program provides a valuable opportunity for the Authority to explore with the industry how new digital currencies can bring unique value to the public. It is understood that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will work closely with the selected institutions in the next 12 months to jointly promote the second phase of work, and plans to share the main achievements of the second phase with the public by the end of 2025. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority introduced that with the expansion of research on the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" project from "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" to a more comprehensive exploration of the digital currency ecosystem, the project has been renamed as "Digital Hong Kong Dollar+". The "Digital Hong Kong Dollar" pilot program is an important component of the "Digital Hong Kong Dollar+" project, which was launched on May 18 last year. (New Society)