Uber, HSBC and Franklin Templeton test a tokenised money market fund

Uber took part in a blockchain-based investment pilot with HSBC and Franklin Templeton. The company used tokenised deposits issued by HSBC to buy and sell a tokenised money market fund issued by Franklin Templeton. According to the announcement, the trial gave Uber an additional 1.5 days of returns on its cash. Tradeweb, Fireblocks and the Canton Network provided liquidity and settlement infrastructure.

How the pilot worked

As part of the pilot, Uber bought units in Franklin Templeton’s tokenised money market fund on a Thursday using HSBC’s tokenised deposits, then sold them the following Sunday. The investment and settlement took place on a public blockchain, outside standard banking and market hours.

In the traditional model, companies have had to sell assets before banks and markets close on Friday to ensure they can access cash over the weekend. The pilot removed that requirement, allowing the position to remain invested through the weekend. This generated an additional 1.5 days of returns.

Both the cash and asset legs of the transaction were tokenised. This allowed the purchase and sale to take place on-chain without relying on standard settlement windows.

Corporate treasury management

The pilot reflects a wider effort by companies to improve returns on treasury balances while reducing reliance on overdrafts and credit lines. Under this model, a company can keep cash in a yield-bearing instrument and still exit the position when needed, including outside normal operating hours.

Participants say this approach allows companies to optimise cash without arranging financing to cover short-term liquidity gaps. For corporate treasurers, it creates new options for managing idle balances over weekends and during market closures. Those periods have traditionally limited both returns and access to funds.

Combining tokenised bank deposits with a tokenised fund also shows how a regulated bank and an asset manager can connect their products through shared blockchain infrastructure.

Next steps and adoption outlook

HSBC said the pilot had confirmed the technical feasibility of the approach. The bank added that the service is ready for broader rollout and for use by other clients.

Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov expects hundreds of large enterprises to adopt the model within the next 18 months. If that happens, corporate treasury could become a significant use case for tokenised deposits and tokenised money market funds beyond the pilot stage.

The trial also shows how banks, asset managers, trading venues and digital asset infrastructure providers can contribute to a single settlement workflow for corporate clients.