Uber is testing a new way to put its idle cash to work outside regular market hours. Together with HSBC and Franklin Templeton, the company conducted a pilot transaction involving tokenized deposits and a money market fund, allowing it to retain access to liquidity while earning approximately an extra day and a half of returns.
The treasury operations of large companies often include sums that are not immediately needed for day-to-day operations. This cash is generally invested in short-term instruments, but traditional market hours limit investment opportunities over the weekend. The project led by Uber, HSBC and Franklin Templeton explores a different approach: using tokenization and blockchain infrastructure to conduct transactions outside regular banking hours.
The trial aimed to determine whether tokenized financial assets could allow a company to put its cash to work for longer without giving up its ability to access the funds. It is part of a broader trend of financial institutions experimenting with blockchain as they seek to adapt transfers, settlements and asset management to digital operations.
A transaction carried out from Thursday to Sunday
Tokenized bank deposits used to buy a money market fund
During the trial, Uber used tokenized bank deposits provided by HSBC to purchase a tokenized money market fund managed by Franklin Templeton. The purchase was made on a Thursday. The company then sold its investment on Sunday, allowing it to test trading and settlement during a period when traditional markets are generally closed.
In traditional treasury management, companies often liquidate their investments before markets close on Friday so they can access their cash over the weekend. By keeping the investment until Sunday, Uber was able to earn approximately 1.5 extra days of returns compared with the conventional schedule. The trial thus illustrates how digital representations of deposits and fund shares can facilitate transactions outside standard hours.
The role of the participants and the infrastructure
The pilot brought together several players from the financial services and technology sectors. In addition to HSBC, Franklin Templeton and Uber, Tradeweb Markets and Fireblocks took part in the experiment. The Canton Network helped facilitate liquidity and settlement of the transaction, according to information reported by Bloomberg.
This coordination is essential to the operation of a system of this kind. Buying and selling a tokenized asset requires participants to be able to verify transactions, transfer instruments and settle payments consistently. The test therefore aimed not only to assess the potential returns but also to verify that the different systems could work together.
Blockchain applied to corporate treasury management
The ability to conduct transactions over the weekend could change how companies manage their short-term cash. Tokenized deposits and money market fund shares represented on a blockchain could allow them to seek returns without waiting for markets to reopen. For treasurers, the challenge is to balance the returns earned, the availability of funds and the risks associated with the instruments used.
More continuous operations could also, in some circumstances, reduce the need to rely on costly credit lines to meet temporary liquidity needs. However, this is not an automatic guarantee: companies must be able to access their funds as needed, and systems must provide reliable mechanisms for custody, transfer and settlement.
Institutional experiments are also taking shape in other market segments. The London Stock Exchange, for example, completed its first blockchain-based securities transfer as part of a partnership with Microsoft, an initiative that illustrates the development of new use cases for market infrastructure. In international payments, Swift’s adoption of Consensys’s blockchain also reflects the interest in systems capable of supporting large-scale financial transactions.
A pilot that could be expanded to other companies
For Fireblocks, this experiment could herald broader adoption. Its CEO, Michael Shaulov, believes that hundreds of companies could adopt blockchain-based investment models over the next 18 months. This outlook will depend, in particular, on whether solutions can integrate with existing treasury systems and meet companies’ security, compliance and liquidity requirements.
Manish Kohli of HSBC said the project had demonstrated the technical feasibility of the system. The bank plans to expand access to this type of solution for corporate clients in the United States and increase the range of investment options. HSBC also plans to offer options beyond Franklin Templeton products, which could diversify the assets available through this model.
This direction is part of the growth of institutional platforms using blockchain for practical financial transactions. JPMorgan has notably launched its Kinexys platform, associated with a transaction in fund management, a development covered in this article on the use of its blockchain for fund management. These initiatives show that banks are exploring applications that go beyond simple digital asset transfers.
Tokenization is gaining ground among institutions
According to data from RWA.xyz, nearly $40 billion in assets have been tokenized. This growth is accompanied by a proliferation of experiments conducted by financial institutions: nearly 40 institutions are said to have recently tested blockchain-based trading and settlement transactions.
Tokenization involves representing an asset or financial right as a digital token recorded on a blockchain infrastructure. In Uber’s project, this approach applies to bank deposits and shares in a money market fund. It aims to make transactions more programmable and enable them to be processed in ways that differ from those used by traditional infrastructure.
Blockchain applications remain varied and are not limited to treasury investments. Some initiatives highlight its potential to support economic or social objectives, as demonstrated by the work presented at the Blockchain for Good Alliance forum. Meanwhile, market news continues to feature investment strategies across various sectors, such as those discussed in this article on Wall Street, Solana, Anthropic and Micron.
Practical considerations for treasurers
For companies, the value of this model will depend on its ability to offer genuine flexibility without complicating day-to-day management. Treasury teams will need to assess fund redemption terms, settlement times, the availability of tokenized deposits and the level of risk associated with the instruments. They will also need to ensure that the new processes fit with internal procedures and applicable regulatory requirements.
Uber’s pilot project provides an initial concrete example of a transaction carried out over several days, including a period when traditional markets were closed. On its own, it does not demonstrate that all companies will achieve the same results, but it highlights one possibility: using tokenized assets and suitable settlement networks to keep certain treasury operations running beyond business hours.
