HSBC has successfully trialled the first use of quantum-secure technology for buying and selling tokenised physical gold.
Last year, HSBC became the first global bank to offer tokenised physical gold to institutional investors using distributed ledger technology (DLT). This year, it achieved another milestone by launching the HSBC Gold Token for retail investors in Hong Kong, enabling them to acquire fractional ownership of physical gold.
Additionally, HSBC tested the interoperability of its gold tokens using post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to securely transfer digital assets across distributed ledgers. This includes the ability to convert HSBC’s gold tokens into ERC-20 fungible tokens, which increases distribution and interoperability with other DLTs and digital wallets.
In collaboration with future computing firm Quantinuum, HSBC used Quantum Origin randomness technology in its latest pilot to ensure the protection of digital assets and guard against “store now, decrypt-later” (SNDL) cyber incidents. SNDL is a technique where attackers steal sensitive data for later decryption using powerful quantum computers.
Philip Intallura, global head of Quantum Technologies at HSBC, stated, “HSBC was the first international bank to offer tokenised physical gold and is now enhancing that innovation with advanced cybersecurity measures. This pilot successfully demonstrated the potential for deploying these technologies in a real-world business environment.”
This achievement is part of HSBC’s ongoing efforts to safeguard critical applications from future quantum computing threats. In December, HSBC piloted quantum key encryption to protect client FX trading data from the increasing risk of cyber attacks.
In July, HSBC became the first bank to join BT and Toshiba’s quantum-secured metro network, connecting two sites in the UK using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to bolster its global operations against emerging cyber threats. The bank has also entered a multi-year partnership with IBM to explore this technology and is actively recruiting research scientists for a dedicated innovation team.
Recently, HSBC collaborated with PayPal and other members of the Emerging Payments Association Asia to explore the implementation of quantum-safe cryptography in the payments industry.