Turkey’s Misyon Bank has announced its partnership with Swiss firm Taurus to leverage its digital asset custody and tokenization technology. 

The neobank, established just a year ago, aims to position Turkey as a regional center of excellence for custody services and tokenization, according to a report from local media outlet BThaber.

Taurus is a renowned player in the digital asset space with clients like Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank (the latter two being investors).

Misyon Bank Can Now Offer Digital Custody Services

The collaboration enables Misyon Bank to offer digital custody services to a diverse range of institutions, including banks, portfolio management companies, brokerage firms, fintechs, family offices, and central banks.

“We have taken an important step for our country and region with our vision that aims to make Turkey the Switzerland of its region,” Dr. Önder Halisdemir, CEO of Misyon Bank, said in a comment. 

With the completion of Turkey’s local regulatory framework for digital asset custody services, Misyon Bank aims to make Turkey an attractive hub for custody services and tokenization within the region.

“On the way to the goal, we are structuring our technological infrastructure in cooperation with Switzerland-based Taurus and our subsidiary MvizyonTech.”

‘Türkiye’yi bölgesinin İsviçre’si haline getirme’ vizyonu ile kurguladığımız Saklama Bankacılığı ekosistemimizin dijital varlık saklama ve tokenizasyon teknoloji ve çözümlerini, İsviçre merkezli Taurus SA ve teknoloji iştirakimiz Misyon Tech ile yapılandırmaya başladık.

— Misyon Yatırım Bankası (@MisyonBank) March 26, 2024

Turkey has been making strides in crypto-asset legislation, with the Finance Minister recently stating that the regulations are in the final stages. 

In addition to progressing central bank digital currency (CBDC) trials, Turkey has witnessed various tokenization and cryptocurrency initiatives. 

HSBC launched a gold tokenization initiative in late 2023, Takasbank introduced Biga Gold in 2019, Garanti BBVA launched Garanti BBVA Digital Assets in 2023, and payments firm Colendi acquired enterprise blockchain firm SETL in 2022.

“When the legal regulations in our country are completed, these works will put Turkey in a competitive position in the field of asset storage and tokenization and will offer our country a regional area of ​​action,” Halisdemir said. 

Tokenized Funds Continue to Gain Popularity

In a report earlier this year, Moody’s, a leading investment risk assessment firm, revealed the value of tokenized funds surged from $100 million at the beginning of 2023 to approximately $800 million, driven by the rising tokenization of U.S. treasuries.

The report highlighted that both public and private blockchains are witnessing the inclusion of various assets.

Some of the more notable examples include Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Government Money Fund expanding from Stellar to Polygon, Backed Finance launching a tokenized short-term U.S. treasury bond exchange-traded fund (ETF), and UBS Asset Management deploying a tokenized money market fund (MMF) on the Ethereum blockchain.

According to Moody’s, the tokenization of MMFs offers the potential to combine their stability with the technological advantages of stablecoins.

On Monday, DigiFT, a Singapore-based fintech company, also announced the launch of its US Treasury bill depository receipt (DR) tokens. 

The DR tokens offer investors fractional ownership in the underlying US Treasury bills, enabling investors to gain exposure to the traditionally secure US debt market without the need for substantial upfront capital.

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