In a strategic move to establish a presence in the Singapore cryptocurrency landscape, StanChart, the venture wing of Standard Chartered, has introduced Libeara, a blockchain platform designed to tokenize traditional financial instruments, with a focus on the Singapore bond fund market. Libeara aims to digitalize financial instruments on blockchains, eliminating the need for third-party intermediaries, thereby reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency.
Partnering with Singapore-based fund platform solutions provider FundBridge Capital, Standard Chartered’s Libeara intends to create the first tokenized Singapore-Dollar Government Bond Fund, targeting professional investors with a higher net worth and a deeper understanding of financial investing. The launch is contingent upon regulatory approval from Singapore authorities and is anticipated to provide additional investment opportunities with lower operating costs, increased transparency, and operational efficiency.
FundBridge’s CEO, Sue Lynn Lim, highlighted the traditional market’s dependence on favored intermediaries and inefficient operational processes, expressing the goal of Libeara to introduce investment opportunities with improved cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency. Investors leveraging Libeara’s system will have the ability to directly subscribe to tokenized government-issued bonds, manage their tokens in secure digital wallets, and execute redemptions and transfers using blockchain technology.
The launch of Libeara aligns with SC Ventures’ strategic expansion into Asia’s digital asset space, a sector historically dominated by non-bank entities. Besides Libeara, StanChart has majority stakes in Zodia Custody, which holds digital assets, and Zodia Markets, a crypto exchange that services institutional clients.
Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong Expansion
As reported by TronWeekly, the digital asset custodian supported by Standard Chartered has recently extended its services to Hong Kong, marking a significant expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. Established in 2020, Zodia Custody specializes in providing secure investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies, primarily catering to institutional clients such as corporations and professional investors.
The decision to expand into Hong Kong was driven by the substantial demand for crypto assets, especially from institutional entities rather than individual retail customers, as per Julian Sawyer, Zodia’s CEO.
“From an emerging market perspective, there are pockets of jurisdictions where a token-form government bond can actually decrease the cost of owning and having one,” Aaron Gwak, Libeara’s CEO, told Nikkei Asia. “This is the type of infrastructure that we want to build and be able to supply to countries.”