Singapore's MAS Unveils Design Framework for Interoperable Digital Assets

Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), presented a design framework for open, interoperable networks for tokenized digital assets in a Monday report produced with the Bank for International Settlements and other financial institutions. The initiative, Project Guardian, has enlisted 11 institutions, and banks including HSBC, Standard Chartered, DBS and Citi will carry out pilot studies across wealth management, fixed income and foreign exchange. Standard Chartered is developing an initial token offering platform to issue asset-backed security tokens listed on the Singapore Exchange, working with payments platform Linklogis. MAS deputy managing director Leong Sing Chiong said MAS strongly discourages speculation in cryptocurrencies but sees much potential for value creation and efficiency gains in the digital asset ecosystem.