Industry DisruptionPilotSwiss Bank UBS Launches Pilot To Bring Real-World Assets To The Blockchain
Milestone Date: October 2, 2023
Where certainty around blockchain regulation is taking shape, enterprise adoption of blockchain typically follows. UBS, a global wealth manager and the leading universal bank in Switzerland (where there’s above-average regulatory clarity when it comes to blockchain), has launched its first pilot as part of Project Guardian, a broader initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (another crypto-friendly geography due to improving regulatory certainty).
This pilot program includes creating a tokenized version of UBS’ Variable Capital Company (VCC) fund and is a broader play toward UBS Asset Management’s global distributed ledger technology strategy. UBS Asset Management launched the tokenized money market fund pilot using its in-house tokenization service called “UBS Tokenize.” The pilot, one of many that involved some of the world’s largest global financial institutions in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowed UBS Asset Management to process fund activities, like subscriptions and redemptions, on the Ethereum blockchain.
“This is a key milestone in understanding the tokenization of funds, building on UBS’ expertise in tokenizing bonds and structured products. Through this exploratory initiative, we will work with traditional financial institutions and fintech providers to help understand how to improve market liquidity and market access for clients,” said Thomas Kaegi, Head of UBS Asset Management, Singapore & Southeast Asia.
UBS Asset Management will continue to pilot financially related distributed ledger use cases to explore investment strategies and bring real-world assets (RWA) to blockchain.
By Elizabeth Morrison
Published:October 2, 2023