Libeara gears up to offer tokenized Singapore dollar government bonds
Standard Chartered’s fintech investment subsidiary SC Ventures has unveiled Libeara, a platform set to cause a stir with the introduction of the first-ever tokenized Singapore-dollar government bond fund.
Once launched, the offering would provide for a significant departure from traditional bond funds, offering a sleek and digital twist to the stable investment option. There’s no fixed date for the product offering as yet, as it will need to be approved by the local regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Greater accessibility and liquidity
Libeara’s emergence signifies yet another instance of the convergence of traditional financial instruments in combination with blockchain technology. Through the tokenization of government bonds, Libeara not only aligns with the evolving preferences of modern investors but also promises greater accessibility and liquidity in the bond market.
Within Libeara’s distributed ledger-based innovation, each token mirrors a unit of the bond fund, embodying its value and ownership rights. This approach streamlines the investor experience, ensuring a seamless process from onboarding to subscription and redemption of tokenized units. Libeara’s model addresses historical inefficiencies, enhancing the efficiency, transparency and security of bond trading that has long been plagued by cumbersome processes and intermediaries.
Aaron Gwak, Founder and CEO of Libeara, provided further details on the new startup’s market offering:
“This will be the first time a Singapore-dollar government bond fund will be offered in token format. At Libeara, we care deeply about not only creating a token representing an asset but also about how close the token is to the actual asset. Ensuring that FundBridge’s investors can buy native tokens, where each token represents a unit of the fund, is central to the infrastructure of the tokenisation solution that we have created for FundBridge.”
Catering to accredited investors
Libeara’s product proposition caters to accredited investors and is positioned as a collaborative effort with industry leaders. The new start-up is emerging in Singapore, wholly owned by SC Ventures while partnering with FundBridge Capital, both headquartered in the city-state.
The firm has partnered with enterprise-grade platform Fireblocks for digital asset infrastructure. There’s further Singaporean involvement by way of partnerships with local entities such as digital assets services group Fazz and digital asset payments infrastructure firm StraitsX for crypto-to-fiat conversions. Chainalysis has been contracted for its on-chain AML capabilities, Hong Kong’s Chekk for KYC solutions and local firm Letsbloom for cloud deployments and compliance.
Sue Lynn Lim, CEO and COO of FundBridge Capital, emphasized the transformative potential of the venture, stating:
“By partnering with Libeara, we are ensuring that we can provide additional investment opportunities enabled by lower operating costs, higher transparency and higher operational efficiency.”
The move not only involves creating a digital representation of an asset but reimagining the asset itself in a digital format for increased accessibility, ease of trade and potential profitability.
