Major world banking firm HSBC plans to launch an institutional custody platform for tokenized securities, also referred to as security tokens.
HSBC has partnered with Ripple-owned tech agency Metaco to combine its institutional platform Harmonize with HSBC’s new custody service for digital belongings, the agency introduced on Nov. 8.
The financial institution expects to roll out the brand new digital asset custody service in 2024, complementing its digital asset issuance platform often known as HSBC Orion and HSBC providing for tokenized bodily gold, launched on Nov. 1, 2023. Together, the companies kind an entire digital asset providing for HSBC’s institutional shoppers, the agency stated.
“These services underscore HSBC’s commitment to the overall development of digital asset markets,” HSBC’s world head of digital belongings technique, John O’Neill, famous.
HSBC’s plans to launch digital asset custody got here in response to the growing demand for custody and fund administration of digital belongings from asset managers and asset house owners, in accordance to HSBC’s head of digital, knowledge and innovation, Zhu Kuang Lee. “This market continues to evolve,” Lee harassed, including that asset servicers have by no means seen a “more important time to innovate.”
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A spokesperson for HSBC harassed in a press release to Cointelegraph that the upcoming digital asset custody platform for institutional buyers would solely cowl security tokens and wouldn’t embody cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins like Tether (USDT). Unlike a pure cryptocurrency, a tokenized security is a digital illustration of a security issued and moved on the blockchain.
HSBC has been looking for expertise for its tokenized security division for some time. As beforehand reported, HSBC was looking for a candidate with expertise in digital assets, significantly asset tokenization and custody, in February 2022.
HSBC’s transfer into tokenized securities is just not the primary firm’s foray into the blockchain and crypto trade. On Nov. 1, HSBC introduced successful testing of tokenized deposits in collaboration with main Chinese monetary companies supplier Ant Group.
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