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Uber Tests Blockchain Treasury With HSBC, Earns Extra 1.5 Days of Yield

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Uber has completed a corporate treasury management pilot using blockchain technology in collaboration with HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Tradeweb, and digital asset custody firm Fireblocks. The initiative demonstrated how companies could invest idle corporate cash outside conventional banking hours and generate additional returns through tokenized financial instruments.

The transaction was conducted on the Canton Network, an institutional blockchain infrastructure designed to support financial markets. Uber used tokenized bank deposits issued by HSBC to purchase shares in a tokenized money market fund managed by Franklin Templeton. The investment was initiated on a Thursday and settled on the following Sunday, allowing the company to earn approximately 1.5 additional days of yield.

The pilot demonstrated how blockchain-based financial infrastructure could enable corporate treasury departments to keep cash invested throughout weekends, reducing the opportunity costs associated with traditional banking and market settlement schedules.

Uber Generates Additional Returns Through Weekend Investment

Under conventional corporate treasury procedures, companies often liquidate money market investments before financial markets close on Friday to ensure funds are available for weekend obligations. This approach can leave corporate cash temporarily uninvested until markets reopen.

Uber’s blockchain-based transaction demonstrated an alternative approach by allowing the company to purchase and subsequently sell tokenized fund shares beyond traditional market operating hours.

According to reports, the transaction generated approximately 1.5 additional days of investment yield compared with conventional treasury processes. The figure represents additional earning time rather than a 1.5% investment return or an increase in the fund’s annual interest rate.

The exact amount invested by Uber and the monetary value of the additional earnings were not disclosed.

HSBC supplied the tokenized bank deposits used to finance the transaction, while Franklin Templeton provided the money market investment product. Tradeweb and Fireblocks also participated in the initiative, with the Canton Network facilitating the transaction’s liquidity and settlement processes.

Tokenized bank deposits represent digital claims against the commercial bank that issues them. Unlike stablecoins, they remain linked to deposits maintained within the issuing bank’s financial infrastructure.

HSBC Plans to Expand Tokenized Deposit Services

The successful completion of the pilot could support broader adoption of blockchain-based treasury services among multinational corporations.

HSBC indicated that the initiative had demonstrated the technical readiness of its tokenized deposit infrastructure. The bank plans to extend the service to additional corporate customers in the United States and explore investment opportunities beyond Franklin Templeton’s existing products.

HSBC has already developed tokenized deposit capabilities across several international financial markets. Its Tokenized Deposit Service has been introduced in markets including Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

The infrastructure supports multiple currencies, including the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound, Hong Kong dollar, Singapore dollar, offshore Chinese yuan, and UAE dirham. Eligible corporate and institutional customers can use the service for domestic and cross-border transfers, subject to availability and regulatory requirements.

Fireblocks Predicts Wider Enterprise Blockchain Adoption

The Uber transaction also reflects increasing interest among financial institutions and large corporations in using blockchain networks for treasury management.

Fireblocks Chief Executive Michael Shaulov expects hundreds of corporations to adopt blockchain-based investment models over the next 18 months. His forecast suggests that institutional demand could accelerate as companies explore ways to improve capital efficiency and reduce settlement delays.

However, Uber’s transaction remains a pilot rather than evidence of widespread commercial deployment.


Franklin Templeton’s Benji Platform Already Supports Canton

Franklin Templeton’s participation builds on its earlier integration with the Canton Network. In November 2025, the asset manager connected its Benji platform to the network to improve institutional access to tokenized investment products.

The integration was designed to combine blockchain interoperability with privacy requirements important to institutional investors. It also supported access to regulated financial instruments and Canton-based collateral infrastructure.

Separately, HSBC and Standard Chartered have explored interoperability between their respective tokenized deposit systems through Swift’s blockchain infrastructure.

Together, these developments highlight how banks, asset managers, and technology providers are building blockchain-based financial infrastructure to support continuous transactions, improve capital utilization, and modernize institutional treasury operations.

Uber’s Earlier Interest in Blockchain Payments

Uber‘s involvement in blockchain-based financial services follows its earlier exploration of digital currency payments. In June 2025, Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi indicated that the company was studying stablecoins as a potential solution for international payments and reducing cross-border transaction costs.

The latest treasury pilot represents a practical step beyond that exploratory interest, demonstrating how blockchain technology could support corporate investment operations rather than payments alone.

If similar systems gain wider institutional acceptance, companies could eventually manage liquidity, investments, and settlement through blockchain infrastructure without relying entirely on conventional market operating hours.

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