Uber Tests Canton Network to Earn Weekend Yield from Tokenized Money Market Funds

Uber has completed a blockchain-based corporate treasury pilot that allowed it to keep cash invested over the weekend while retaining access to liquidity. The trial involved HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Tradeweb, and Fireblocks, with the Canton Network providing the infrastructure for onchain settlement.

The transaction connected HSBC's tokenized bank deposits with Franklin Templeton's tokenized money market fund. Uber purchased the fund on a Thursday and sold part of its holdings on Sunday, reportedly capturing around 1.5 additional days of yield compared with traditional treasury operations.

The October 30 announcement marks a practical use case for institutional blockchain infrastructure. Rather than using crypto for payments or trading, Uber tested whether tokenization could help a large company manage its everyday cash more efficiently.

How Uber used Canton Network to earn weekend yield

Corporate treasury teams typically balance two priorities: earning returns on available cash and keeping enough liquidity to meet payment obligations.

Traditional money market fund transactions operate within established market and banking hours. Companies may therefore need to sell investments before the weekend to ensure cash is available when required. This can leave money sitting outside yield-generating investments until markets reopen.

Uber's pilot tested a different approach.

The company used HSBC Tokenized Deposits to purchase shares in a Franklin Templeton tokenized money market fund through Tradeweb. The transactions settled on the Canton Network using delivery-versus-payment infrastructure provided through Fireblocks.

Uber then demonstrated that it could liquidate part of its tokenized fund holdings over a weekend while continuing to earn yield during the investment period.

Transaction took place from Thursday to Sunday and captured approximately 1.5 additional days of yield. The participating companies' official announcement confirms the weekend liquidity and settlement capability, but does not disclose the investment amount or the actual dollar return generated.

The reported 1.5 days refer to additional time invested, not a 1.5% increase in the fund's annual yield.

What roles did HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Tradeweb, and Fireblocks play?

The pilot connected several parts of traditional financial infrastructure through blockchain technology.

HSBC provided tokenized deposits. These represent commercial bank deposits held with HSBC Bank USA. They served as the cash component of the transaction, allowing Uber to move bank money into the tokenized investment workflow.

Franklin Templeton supplied the money market fund. Its tokenized fund shares represented the investment component, allowing Uber to keep eligible cash invested while retaining the ability to liquidate holdings.

Tradeweb supported the investment transaction. The electronic trading platform provided the institutional trading infrastructure through which Uber purchased the fund shares.

Fireblocks supported wallet and settlement infrastructure. Its technology facilitated the delivery-versus-payment process on Canton, connecting the transfer of tokenized deposits with the transfer of fund shares.

The Canton Network coordinated the transaction between these participants. Its institutional infrastructure is designed to support privacy, controlled access, and synchronized financial transactions.

The arrangement is significant because it connects bank-issued digital money with tokenized investment products rather than requiring companies to manage separate, disconnected systems.

Why tokenized deposits and money market funds matter

Tokenized deposits and tokenized money market funds serve different purposes.

A tokenized deposit represents money held as a deposit liability of a commercial bank. In this case, HSBC Tokenized Deposits represent deposits at HSBC Bank USA.

A tokenized money market fund share represents an investment in a fund that holds eligible financial assets. Its value and returns depend on the fund's holdings and terms. It is not the same as a bank deposit and is not automatically covered by deposit insurance.

Connecting these two instruments allows corporate treasurers to move between cash and investments through digital infrastructure.

The key advantage is not simply putting financial assets on a blockchain. It is reducing the time and operational friction involved in moving between them.

The pilot also demonstrated atomic delivery-versus-payment settlement. In simple terms, the cash and investment legs are designed to complete together. This reduces the risk of one side transferring an asset while waiting for the other side to settle.

For companies managing large operating balances, even a relatively small improvement in the time cash remains invested could become meaningful when repeated across weekends and holidays.

Canton Network expands its role in institutional finance

Uber's pilot adds another corporate treasury use case to the Canton Network's growing institutional ecosystem.

Canton is designed to connect financial institutions and applications while allowing participants to control which parties can see transaction information. This is important for banks and asset managers that need interoperability without exposing sensitive financial activity to every network participant.

The network has already attracted interest from major financial market infrastructure providers.

For example, the Depository Trust Company recently launched a tokenized securities service on Canton Network and a private Besu blockchain. The initial rollout includes 20 participating firms and 34 eligible securities, covering selected stocks, ETFs, and US Treasury securities.

Altcoin Buzz previously covered the DTCC tokenized securities launch on Canton Network, which showed how traditional securities infrastructure is beginning to connect with blockchain-based settlement systems.

Another example came from BNY and Citadel Securities. The firms completed a tokenized US Treasury transaction and used the asset as collateral in an overnight repo workflow.

That development, covered in our report on BNY and Citadel's tokenized Treasury settlement, demonstrated how tokenized assets could move from trading and settlement into financing.

Uber's pilot adds a different application: using tokenized financial products to improve the management of corporate cash.

HSBC plans to expand the service to more corporate clients

The pilot could become a starting point for wider adoption of blockchain-based treasury operations.

HSBC plans to make the capability available to more US corporate customers and explore additional investment options beyond Franklin Templeton's money market fund.

That would give eligible companies another way to manage surplus cash while retaining access to liquidity outside conventional market hours.

The opportunity is particularly relevant to multinational businesses and digital platforms that handle payments across different markets and time zones. Their treasury teams need to keep money available for operational obligations while avoiding unnecessarily large idle cash balances.

However, broader availability will depend on client eligibility, investment-product access, settlement arrangements, and the operational requirements of each participating institution.

The pilot does not mean every company can now trade tokenized money market funds around the clock. It demonstrates a working transaction involving a specific group of institutional partners.

What Uber's pilot means for real-world asset adoption

Tokenization is increasingly moving beyond the issuance of digital versions of traditional assets. Financial institutions are now testing how those assets can interact with banking, trading, payments, and collateral systems.

Franklin Templeton has also expanded its tokenized money market fund distribution into crypto markets. In September, Altcoin Buzz reported that the firm brought tokenized money market fund shares to Bybit as collateral, allowing eligible users to pledge the shares while borrowing USDT or USDC.

That development is covered in our article on Franklin Templeton's tokenized money market funds on Bybit.

The Uber pilot demonstrates another way to use the same broader category of tokenized financial products. Instead of using fund shares as trading collateral, a corporation can use them to manage working capital and earn returns on available cash.

The next important milestone will be whether HSBC can expand the service beyond a single pilot and whether other large companies adopt similar treasury workflows.

For now, Uber's transaction offers a practical example of how blockchain infrastructure can connect regulated bank deposits, investment funds, and institutional trading systems. If these arrangements become widely available, corporate treasury operations could eventually move closer to a continuous, 24/7 model.