In an advancement announcement, Standard Chartered Bank’s investment and innovation division SC Ventures released a tokenization platform dubbed Libeara. Launching the Libeara positions Standard Chartered Group among the list of companies seeking to capitalize the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).
Lately, the tokenization of the RWA has emerged as a new trend in the financial market. A few days ago, HSBC partnered with Metaco to introduce custodial services for cryptos. The HSBC and Metaco plan to offer retail and institutional clients tokenized securities.
Standard Chartered Debuts Libeara
This exciting development in asset tokenization has challenged Standard Chartered to invest in the development of Libeara to offer the community a platform to boost their financial performance.
An announcement conveyed by the head of SC Ventures, Alex Manson, revealed that the Libeara platform will support tokenizing a wide range of assets. The executive believes that launching the Libeara will enable the financial institution to meet the customers’ demand and improve the quality of services.
He anticipates that Libeara will complement existing product offerings such as the Zodia Custody and Zodia Market to ensure diverse asset groups are readily available. Initially, the giant financial institution only offered custodial and crypto exchange services to its diverse users.
With the dynamism in the financial landscape, SC Ventures noted that the lack of tokenization of assets impacted unmet financial needs. The attempt to fill the existing gaps in the market inspired SC Ventures to invest in developing Libeara.
Benefits of Tokenizing Real-World Assets
At the initial development phase of Libeara, the financial institution collaborated with various fintech and crypto firms to integrate innovative features into the new product.
According to the report, the team behind Libeara collaborated with Fireblock to integrate custodial features. SC Ventures worked closely with Chainanalysis and Chekk to meet global compliance standards.
In the report, the financial institution admitted that to ensure Libeara offers the complete suite of tokenized assets, SC Ventures partnered with Fazz to install a unique payment tool for crypto assets.
The collaboration with Fazz aimed at enabling Libeara users to effortlessly convert their crypto assets to their respective fiat currencies through the StraitsX platform. In the final stages of the development of Libeara, the financial institution partnered with FundBridge Capital to tokenize the Singaporean dollar bond for eligible investors.
From the successful collaboration that yielded the integration of additional features on the Libeara platform, SC Ventures’ latest development emerged among the finalists in the Global Retail CBDC Competition hosted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Aaron Gwak Appointed to Led Libeara Project
In the competition, the Libeara proof-of-concept (PoC) outperformed most of the projects presented by other participants. At the event, the team behind Libeara gained global recognition for exemplary work in developing digital platform prototypes commonly used by the Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Ghana governments.
Based on the features and the primary objectives of launching this groundbreaking project, SC Ventures tapped Aaron Gwak as the chief executive of Libeara. Mr. Gwak was considered the best suit to oversee the operation of Libeara due to his impressive performance and willingness to attain success.
From his career history, Gwak has been working for Standard Chartered Group for the last 16 years in various divisions. He believes that the Libeara project will introduce the Singapore Dollar Government Bond Fund in a token version for the first time.
The primary focus of offering the tokenized Singapore Dollar Government Bond is to improve credibility and restore financial integrity. Gwak revealed plans to collaborate with global credit rating companies to rate the fund against other assets.
Gwak stated that the credit rating agency would assist the Libeara team in assessing whether the quality of the fund perfectly matches the token structure. He reiterated that Libeara seeks to allow fund managers, token issuers, and government watchdogs to introduce the RWA to on-chain platforms.
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