Major global banking company HSBC plans to launch an institutional custody platform for tokenized securities, also known as security tokens.
HSBC has partnered with Ripple-owned tech firm Metaco to integrate its institutional platform Harmonize with HSBC’s new custody service for digital assets, the firm announced on Nov. 8.
The bank expects to roll out the new digital asset custody service in 2024, complementing its digital asset issuance platform known as HSBC Orion and HSBC offering for tokenized physical gold, launched on Nov. 1, 2023. Together, the services form a complete digital asset offering for HSBC’s institutional clients, the firm said.
“These services underscore HSBC’s commitment to the overall development of digital asset markets,” HSBC’s global head of digital assets strategy, John O’Neill, noted.
HSBC’s plans to launch digital asset custody came in response to the increasing demand for custody and fund administration of digital assets from asset managers and asset owners, according to HSBC’s head of digital, data and innovation, Zhu Kuang Lee. “This market continues to evolve,” Lee stressed, adding that asset servicers have never seen a “more important time to innovate.”
A spokesperson for HSBC stressed in a statement to Cointelegraph that the upcoming digital asset custody platform for institutional investors would only cover security tokens and would not include cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins like Tether (USDT). Unlike a pure cryptocurrency, a tokenized security is a digital representation of a security issued and moved on the blockchain.
HSBC has been seeking talent for its tokenized security division for a while. As previously reported, HSBC was looking for a candidate with expertise in digital assets, particularly asset tokenization and custody, in February 2022.
HSBC’s move into tokenized securities is not the first company’s foray into the blockchain and crypto industry. On Nov. 1, HSBC announced successful testing of tokenized deposits in collaboration with major Chinese financial services provider Ant Group.
When TV cameras are let in to film world leaders meeting in person, the resulting footage is usually incredibly boring for journalists and incredibly safe for politicians.
Put through a total of almost 90 minutes of televised questioning alongside the American leader, it was his diciest encounter with the president yet.
But he still just about emerged intact.
For a start, he can claim substantive policy wins after Trump announced extra pressure on Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire and dialled up the concern over the devastating scenes coming from Gaza.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
There were awkward moments aplenty though.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Image: The two leaders held talks in front of the media. Pic: Reuters
On green energy, immigration, taxation and online regulation, the differences were clear to see.
Sir Keir just about managed to paper over the cracks by chuckling at times, choosing his interventions carefully and always attempting to sound eminently reasonable.
At times, it had the energy of a man being forced to grin and bear inappropriate comments from his in-laws at an important family dinner.
But hey, it stopped a full Trump implosion – so I suppose that’s a win.
My main takeaway from this Scotland visit though is not so much the political gulf present between the two men, but the gulf in power.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:23
Trump gives Putin new deadline to end war
Sir Keir flew the length of the country he leads to be the guest at the visiting president’s resort.
He was then forced to sit through more than an hour of uncontrolled, freewheeling questioning from a man most of his party and voters despise, during which he was offered unsolicited advice on how to beat Nigel Farage and criticised (albeit indirectly) on key planks of his government’s policy platform.
In return he got warm words about him (and his wife) and relatively incremental announcements on two foreign policy priorities.
So why does he do it?
Because, to borrow a quote from a popular American political TV series: “Air Force One is a big plane and it makes a hell of a noise when it lands on your head.”
With Amazon and Walmart exploring stablecoins, institutions may be underestimating potential exposure of customer data on blockchains, posing risks to privacy and brand trust.
The European Central Bank may rely on regulated euro stablecoins and private innovation to counter the dominance of US dollar stablecoins, says adviser Jürgen Schaaf.