Unlocking the Potential of Tokenized Asset Trading: Insights from MAS's Project Guardian

Three trial use cases have been completed as part of the project, and the report utilizes them as a "framework for consideration" of financial market infrastructure. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and 11 financial institutions have examined infrastructure models to facilitate tokenized asset trading as the pace of asset tokenization continues to accelerate. According to the MAS's Project Guardian report, which was released on June 26, the key to unlocking the full benefits of the technology lies in open and interoperable digital asset networks. 

Project Guardian identified options for platform type, asset type, and network access while taking into account best practices. It employed three test cases and drew observations from them, emphasizing that it does not endorse any specific case. The first use case focused on over-the-counter (OTC) foreign exchange transactions. A thorough examination highlighted a collaboration between DBS Bank and SBI Digital Asset Holdings. 

The report concluded that "trading in a permissioned liquidity pool protocol achieves greater efficiency by reducing friction and minimizing risks, while the tokenized assets bring the benefits of atomic settlement."

The second use case centered around trade finance and examined Standard Chartered Bank's asset-backed securities tokenization.

 In this model, tokenized trade finance receivable assets are repackaged as natively issued fungible tokens and divided into two tranches with differing risk exposures. 

The report concluded that trading in the "senior," less risky tokens would "broaden the investor base for real economy assets." The third use case focused on OTC-structured notes, which are a popular wealth management product with significant traction and demand in Asian wealth centers. 

Currently, the issuance of such notes is labor-intensive and involves manual elements, and the notes require a high level of servicing. To address these challenges, a network created by HSBC, Marketnode, and United Overseas Bank has established an OTC-structured note "token factory."

The platform whitelists parties on a public, permissionless platform, resulting in greater efficiency in creating and distributing the notes. These institutions are part of a wider industry effort to establish common standards for asset issuance and exchange. MAS also announced an expansion of Project Guardian to test the potential of asset tokenization across additional financial asset classes. The report proposes a framework for designing open and interoperable networks for digital assets, providing valuable insights for the ongoing development of this technology.

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