Digital asset company Marketnode, jointly established by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Temasek Holdings, plans to launch a blockchain-based fund settlement platform as early as June. They also plan to introduce tokenized credit products (bonds and loans) in Q1 of next year.
According to the Straits Times, Marketnode revealed that the fund settlement platform, called “Fundnode,” took about 12 months to build. The company has already tested the transaction management, processing, and record-keeping functions of funds in the pilot phase of Fundnode.
The goal of the upcoming Fundnode is to have a network of partners to create a new fund ecosystem. This partner network for the fund settlement platform will consist of fund managers creating products, as well as distributors such as wealth management institutions, private banks, and financial advisory firms representing clients who buy or sell these funds.
Rehan Ahmed, President of Marketnode, expressed his hope that more financial institutions and infrastructure participants will become strategic partners of the platform by 2024. He also mentioned that Fundnode is one of the two products developed by Marketnode, founded in 2021. The other product is Gateway, a one-stop issuance, tokenization, and asset servicing platform.
Ahmed stated that their goal for Gateway is to have programmable assets on the ledger by Q4 of 2024 or Q1 of 2025. The first native digital asset they hope to launch on Gateway will be structured notes, and they expect to introduce tokenized credit products (such as bonds and loans) in Q1 of 2025.
When asked about the main challenges of the business, Ahmed replied that the most difficult part is establishing connections within the fund ecosystem. His team is closely monitoring distribution partners to build a global network.
In addition, Marketnode announced on May 30th that it has successfully completed Series A financing led by HSBC and Temasek, but the amount of funding has not been disclosed. This investment will help Marketnode expand the infrastructure for key asset classes such as digital fixed income and structured products, launch the Fundnode platform, and introduce other tokenized asset products.
Ahmed also revealed that the company is considering applying for a Singapore license, which will depend on the type of activities the company engages in. Initially, Marketnode focused on digital bonds, and since 2020, the company has been jointly developing digital market infrastructure covering credit, funds, and structured products with HSBC.
Marketnode and HSBC are both participants in Project Guardian, launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2023, which aims to test the tokenization of assets across different asset classes. Other participants include Standard Chartered, DBS Bank, Citigroup, and other traditional multinational banking giants.
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