On May 18, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the launch of the cyber Hong Kong dollar pilot project. According to officials, 16 selected companies from the financial payment and technology sectors will conduct the first round of trials this year on the feasibility of a Hong Kong dollar central bank digital currency (e-HKD). Companies included in the pilot include Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group’s Alipay Financial, Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Asia, Ripple Labs, Visa (NYSE:V), and HSBC.