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Harnessing the transformative potential of asset tokenization, Singapore's financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in unison with 11 financial giants, has been studying the ways to streamline tokenized asset trading. The information was divulged in a document named "Project Guardian," which was unveiled on June 26.
This ground-breaking effort of MAS is a pursuit to realize the complete possibilities of the revolutionary technology. It emphasizes the cruciality of digital asset networks that operate on the principles of openness and interoperability, which is integral to fully capitalize on the benefits offered by tokenization.
The research, Project Guardian, dissected numerous possibilities with regard to the nature of the platform, kind of assets, and network access. The objective was to discover and implement the most effective practices. It revolved around the investigation of three practical scenarios but was careful not to explicitly support any of them.
In the initial scenario, the study spotlighted the over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange transactions, where a notable partnership between DBS Bank and SBI Digital Asset Holdings was dissected. The conclusions suggested that a permissioned liquidity pool protocol offers greater efficiency by curtailing friction and risks. The tokenized assets further enhance this by enabling atomic settlement.
The second scenario delved into trade finance, with particular focus on the asset-backed securities tokenization by Standard Chartered Bank. The tokenized assets, formed from trade finance receivable assets, were repackaged into fungible tokens with variable risk exposure. The report suggested that trading with these less risky, "senior" tokens could broaden the investor base for real assets.
The final scenario studied was about over-the-counter structured notes. Currently, their issuance process is laborious with a significant manual component, and a high degree of servicing is required. However, a network developed by HSBC, Marketnode, and United Overseas Bank was found to significantly enhance the efficiency of note creation and distribution by approving parties on a public, permissionless platform.
Project Guardian took flight in May 2022 and is set to keep exploring themes like "Trust Anchors" and "Institutional DeFi."
