Chintai has announced the opening of its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore as the digital asset platform launches its beta version for institutional participants, namely banks and asset managers.
The blockchain specialist has developed a platform for institutions and SMEs to create, issue, and tokenise traditional assets in capital markets in an interoperable compliance protocol for digital assets that brings efficiencies and cost savings.
The platform uses the EOSIO open-source protocol of Block.One and the platform helps to provide compliance-enabled technology for its clients for issuance, secondary trading, automated market-making, and other services.
The institutional beta programme includes various asset classes and instruments to drive that adoption, the firm has stated. Launching from its APAC headquarters in Singapore, Chintai is backed by big names within the blockchain space, including B1, Cryptology Asset Group, Collective Capital, Peer Venture Partners, and Chimera Wealth.
David Packham, Founder of Chintai, commented: “Our focus on Singapore is a natural decision due to its world-class financial infrastructure, business environment and regulatory framework. As we set our sights on tapping into the broader Asia-Pacific market, we see a strong potential for blockchain adoption by institutions in this region, with Singapore being a major key market that will lead the way.
“With our team of experts that come with deep experience in banking, capital markets and blockchain technology, we are confident in elevating the overall level of the blockchain ecosystem in Singapore, especially at the institutional level.”
Chintai has set its sights on strategically expanding its investment and presence with Singapore as its headquarters in APAC. For that reason, the firm is actively engaging the Fintech community in Singapore and is working closely with the Singapore Fintech Association and Blockchain Association of Singapore.
In July, the firm raised $7.5 million in seed round from investors that include Block.one, the company behind the development of the EOS token. The fundraiser was aimed at developing the platform to tokenize traditional financial assets.
Kevin Rose, Senior Vice President at Block. one, said: “Asset tokenization is an important trend that brings efficiency, liquidity, and fractional ownership to markets of all types. We’re excited to work with Chintai toward our shared vision of a blockchain-enabled digital asset revolution built on regulated financial services.
“It’s well known that distributed ledger technology (DLT) is going to dramatically disrupt the financial system. Established financial institutions want to future-proof their competitive advantage, while smaller firms see the technology as a way to access innovative new business lines and increase their margins. Our comprehensive platform makes it easy for anyone to embrace compliant DLT for their specific needs,”
Chintai says that its product suite can be used by big and small companies to move to distributed ledger technology as this is likely to disrupt the financial system in the long run. Those companies that would like to onboard their assets to DLT can make use of the Chintai platform to achieve their goals.
The platform is expected to secure the Recognized Market Operator (RMO) and Capital Markets Services (CMS) licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Regulatory oversight is likely to be a key aspect for startups working in the crypto space henceforth, as investors and major companies look for some control and oversight with the partners that they deal with.
But with regulations in various jurisdictions still in a state of flux as far as crypto industry is concerned, it is indeed advantageous for companies to partner with regulated entities when they are looking to enter into the blockchain space.
