Quick take:
- Authorities announced the initiative dubbed Project Guardian.
- It’s a joint effort between the finance industry stakeholders and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
- The focus is on DeFi solutions and digital asset tokenization.
- Reports revealed that the first pilot targets DeFi’s use in the wholesale lending market.
- Major banks like DBS and JP Morgan will lead the pilot project.
Singapore has opened the curtains on a blockchain-powered project geared towards bolstering its place as a hub for innovation in the global economy. The initiative tagged “Project Guardian” will research and leverage tokenization technology and decentralized finance to bootstrap the country’s digital ecosystem.
The MAS previously introduced crypto-friendly regulations to incentive businesses dealing with digital assets as early as 2020. Although recent laws and slow processing times have supposedly turned away some blockchain companies.
Names like Bybit and Three Arrows recently announced their exits from the jurisdiction. Some have surmised that the newly introduced ban on crypto services marketing could be a significant factor behind the exits.
According to a report published on Monday (May 31, 2022) by Bloomberg, the project is championed by stakeholders in the Finance scene and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the top watchdog in the jurisdiction.
Both parties intend to further strengthen stability within the financial system and enhance integrity among key infrastructures by tapping decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and digital asset tokenization solutions.
MAS chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty further explained that Project Guardian will form the cornerstone of Singapore’s digital growth.
Through practical experimentation with the financial industry and the broader ecosystem, we seek to sharpen our understanding in this rapidly transforming digital assets ecosystem The learnings from Project Guardian will serve to inform policy markets on the regulatory guardrails that are needed to harness the benefits of DeFi, while mitigating its risks.
Singapore’s Pilot With DBS Bank, JP Morgan Chase, And Marketnode Pte
Project Guardian’s first pilot will involve experts from three major financial service and infrastructure providers – DBS Bank, JP Morgan Chase, and Marketnode Pte. For starters, the pilot focuses on DeFi in wholesale funding markets.
Bloomberg’s report does not specify when the project is expected to kick off.