Technology
UBS Breaks Fresh Tokenization Ground
The bank said the transaction was designed to meet demand from Asian investors for fixed income assets that can be handled using blockchain tech.
UBS has closed what it
says is the first tokenized debt transaction for Asia-Pacific
investors.
The Swiss bank’s London branch issued $50 million in digital
fixed-rate security tokens that use blockchain technology to a
series of high net worth, global family and institutional wealth
investors across Hong Kong and Singapore.
The dollar-denominated instruments carry a tenure of six
months and are tokenized on a permissioned blockchain, UBS said
in a statement late last week.
UBS said this private placement marks the first time that
uncertificated securities on a blockchain have been constituted
under English and Swiss law and tokenized on a permissioned
Ethereum-based blockchain. They are among the first ever global
blockchain-based transactions involving multiple
jurisdictions.
The move comes at a time when, despite sharp falls to
cryptocurrency prices such as bitcoin this year, the “stablecoin”
woes of the spring and the demise of the FTX crypto exchange,
there is still wealth management interest in
digital assets.
UBS said it designed the transaction to “satisfy a rising demand
among Asian investors for fixed income investments that can be
transacted using blockchain".
“We registered strong interest for this inaugural issue from
regional high net worth individuals and family offices, which
underscores their interest in digital securities" added Amy Lo,
co-head at UBS Global Wealth Management APAC.