The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has rolled out five additional industry pilots within the ambit of Project Guardian. This initiative is spearheaded by Singapore’s central bank. It aims to test diverse use cases surrounding asset tokenization and foster foundational capabilities for the scaling of tokenized markets.
Project Guardian: A Leap into Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Project Guardian, a collaborative venture initiated by MAS, is set to revolutionize financial infrastructure by integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) elements. The recently introduced pilots are strategically designed to pave the way for institutional adoption of digital assets. This is with the ultimate goal of unleashing liquidity, unlocking investment opportunities, and enhancing the overall efficiency of financial markets.
“These developments under Project Guardian will catalyze the institutional adoption of digital assets, with the aim of freeing up liquidity, unlocking investment opportunities, and increasing the efficiency of financial markets.”
According to MAS.
Pioneering Initiatives by Financial Institutions
Among the 17 financial institutions participating in Project Guardian, key players such as Citi, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and Fidelity International are actively testing bilateral digital asset trade mechanisms.
Simultaneously, they are exploring real-time post-trade reporting and analytics of digital asset trades. Ant Group is pushing the boundaries by testing a treasury management solution. This will aim to enhance liquidity management funding on a global scale.
BNY Mellon and OCBC have joined forces to test a cross-border FX payment solution, facilitating payments across heterogeneous networks. Franklin Templeton is on a mission to revolutionize money market funds. This is by testing the issuance of a tokenized fund through a Variable Capital Company (VCC) structure.
Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan and Apollo have forged a collaboration to streamline asset servicing processes using digital assets, aiming to eliminate time-consuming manual procedures.
MAS Unveils Global Layer One (GL1) and Interlinked Network Model (INM)
In tandem with the five pilots, MAS has launched Global Layer One (GL1), delving into the design of an open digital infrastructure. This infrastructure is further poised to host a myriad of tokenized financial assets and applications, opening up new frontiers in the world of digital finance.
Moreover, MAS has collaborated with the financial industry to develop an Interlinked Network Model (INM), establishing a common framework for the exchange of digital assets across independent networks among financial institutions.
Project Guardian Expands its Horizon: IMF Joins as Policymaker
In a significant development, MAS has announced the inclusion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as one of the policymakers for Project Guardian. This collaboration signifies a strategic alignment of global financial institutions towards the shared vision of advancing the realm of asset tokenization.
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