Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank, is teaming up with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on asset tokenization.
Deutsche Bank has joined MAS's Project Guardian, which focuses on tokenizing assets in wholesale funding markets and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
As part of this collaboration, Deutsche Bank will test an open and interoperable blockchain platform to support tokenized and digital funds. Additionally, the bank will propose protocol standards and identify the best approach to contribute to industry advancement.
Boon-Hiong Chan, Deutsche's Asia Pacific head of securities and technology, will lead the bank's involvement in Project Guardian. The bank will collaborate closely with Memento Blockchain, a platform specializing in DeFi and digital asset management.
Deutsche Bank and Memento Blockchain previously collaborated on Project DAMA, a proof-of-concept completed in 2022 and 2023, focusing on Digital Assets Management Access.
The goal of these initiatives is to create a more efficient, secure, and flexible solution for digital fund management and investment services.
Deutsche Bank's current efforts are focused on DAMA 2 development, in collaboration with Interop Labs, the original developer of the interoperable blockchain, the Axelar network.
Several major cryptocurrency firms, including Ripple, have been partnering with the Axelar Foundation to enhance interoperability across their blockchain networks. Ripple's collaboration with Axelar aims to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) on the XRP Ledger, enabled through Axelar's interoperability.
Axelar co-founder and Interop Labs CEO Sergey Gorbunov emphasized the importance of secure blockchain interoperability for unlocking the potential of asset tokenization, praising Deutsche Bank and Project Guardian for leading innovation in this area.
Project Guardian, initiated by MAS and launched in 2022, is a collaborative initiative involving MAS, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and Japan's Financial Services Agency.
Deutsche Bank's involvement in Singapore’s tokenization project comes shortly after the bank issued a report on stablecoins, raising concerns about the transparency of major issuers like Tether (USDT).
Tether responded to Deutsche Bank's claims, refuting them and highlighting the lack of substantial evidence or data to support the allegations.
Tether's USDT stablecoin plays a significant role in the cryptocurrency market, boasting the largest share of trades and a total market value close to $111 billion.
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae