Digital assets: CS-backed platform aims at tokenisation, deploys Polygon blockchain

Taurus SA, a Swiss-based digital asset infrastructure provider, has fully integrated the Ethereum platform Polygon blockchain across its custody and tokenisation platform in a move to allow banks, brands, and issuers to issue, book and service any tokenised assets via Polygon, in a fully automated way.

‘Building on Polygon, one of the leading blockchain ecosystems, is a natural step for Taurus. Our banking, consumer goods and sports & entertainment clients can now benefit from low fees and faster transactions for any tokenisation use cases: equity, debt, structured products, funds, NFTs,’ said Victor Busson (pictured), CMO and head of strategic partnerships at Taurus. 

The tokenisation of real-world assets is a no-brainer at the root of the idea. The challenge is and always has been to build sufficiently advanced infrastructure to enable it - Colin Butler, Polygon Labs

Taurus is seeking to capitalise on regulatory frameworks related to tokenised securities being clarified in key financial centres recently with Europe leading the way.

According to Busson, most tier one financial institutions are entering the space and building capabilities to manage tokenised securities with ‘blockchain-agnostic and token-agnostic infrastructure’.

Deploying on Polygon allows common clients to leverage Polygon’s large ecosystem, low transaction fees, and high throughput while benefiting from Ethereum layer-1 security, said Busson.

‘The tokenisation of real-world assets is a no-brainer at the root of the idea. The challenge is and always has been to build sufficiently advanced infrastructure to enable it,’ said Colin Butler (right), global head of institutional capital at Polygon Labs.

In February, Credit Suisse led a US$65 million Series B for Taurus with participation from Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions.

Taurus is targeted at the banking segment and has more than a 60% market share in Switzerland.

State Bank to introduce digital currency, CBBCs

Pakistan is on its way to introducing its own digital currency, according to a senior official of the central bank – State Bank of Pakistan.

Shoukat Bizinjo (right), additional director, digital financial services group, SBP, said the regulator was looking at callable bull/bear contracts (CBBCs) as a potential route for launching digital currencies and for investors to use structured investment products that mirror the performance of underlying assets without requiring to pay the entire cost of ownership of those assets.

‘The SBP is reviewing and consulting with other central banks in this regard,’ he said.

The official also revealed that state bank is currently in talks with regional business leaders to launch digital money in the country following recent developments in e-banking by Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) which have introduced e-money wallets for customers and firms, with other digital payment tools like prepaid cards and contactless payment choices.

There are 12 EMIs in the country in various stages of acquiring licenses from the central bank.

Coinbase targets institutional investors with new BTC, ETH futures

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched new Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) futures through its regulated derivatives exchange ‘specifically targeted towards institutional investors’.

The exchange’s institutional-sized contracts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) will be sized at 1 Bitcoin and 10 Ethereum respectively.

The decision to launch these products was prompted by feedback received after the introduction of the exchange’s nano Bitcoin (BIT) and nano Ether (ET) contracts.

The exchange led by Brian Armstrong (right) recently announced its intentions to launch a derivatives exchange in Bermuda as part of its global expansion strategy. The exchange’s initial offering will enable traders to speculate on the prices of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) through perpetual futures contracts with 5X leverage.

Coinbase’s recent move to expand globally with its derivatives exchange comes at a time when the crypto exchange is grappling with regulatory uncertainties surrounding digital asset trading in the US.

HKEX names head of digital assets

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has appointed Andrew Loong (right) as the group’s managing director and head of digital assets.

In his role, Loong will oversee the development of the digital assets ecosystem in HKEX’s markets, including digital product offerings and building robust digital infrastructure.

Loong will report to HKEX Group head of emerging business & FIC, Glenda So. He succeeds Andrew Walton who leaves HKEX in July.

Loong has a two-decade track record and has worked in a number of major banks and financial institutions, with extensive experience in the digital assets and fixed income market space.

He was the head of security token offering structuring at BC Technology Group and most recently oversaw digital asset product and operation development at a Singapore-based digital family office.

Prior to his time in finance, he was a private legal practitioner for eight years.

Eurex gets CFTC approval for FTSE BTC index futures

Eurex FTSE Bitcoin Index Futures have been approved by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Trading for US-based investors started on 29 May 2023.

With the CFTC approval, US participants can now access these contracts for additional trading and hedging opportunities, with access to a wider range of participants and liquidity pools during Asian, European and US hours.

The new futures contracts trade in EUR and USD with a contract multiplier equivalent to one bitcoin (BTC) and cash settlement on expiry with no position limits.

‘The approval (…) represents another significant step towards increasing the accessibility of cryptocurrencies among institutional investors (…) [and] strengthens the belief of the acceptance and adoption of digital assets,’ said Michael Lie (right), head of digital asset trading, Flow Traders. 

Since its launch, more than ten members have already traded hundreds of contracts, and additional participants are preparing to join - at least five market makers provided liquidity in the order book during the Asian, European and US trading hours, according to the exchange.

Outside of the US, trading began on 17 April 2023, and the contract was developed in collaboration with FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider, and Digital Asset Research (DAR), its provider of institutional-grade digital asset data.