ANZ Joins Singapore’s Project Guardian for Tokenization as First Australian Bank

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji is a crypto and tech reporter. He graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s. He has previously interned at HTX (Huobi Global),…

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Last updated:

September 30, 2024 14:18 EDT

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ANZ became on September 30 the first Australian bank to join Singapore’s Project Guardian, a major initiative exploring the use of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) in financial markets.

According to ANZ’s press release, the bank will collaborate with Chainlink Labs and ADDX to explore interoperability between private blockchains, facilitating the exchange of tokenized assets such as commercial paper.

ANZ’s Tokenization Goal in Singapore

The partnership will also explore the feasibility of using tokenized assets to improve the efficiency of transactions across multiple blockchain platforms. By focusing on secure and streamlined asset movement, ANZ aims to help enhance liquidity in financial markets.

Launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2022, Project Guardian brings together financial institutions and regulatory bodies to address challenges related to asset tokenization.

“ANZ has been in Singapore for 50 years and over that time, our customers have benefited from the bank having access to a regulatory environment that truly fosters innovation,” said ANZ Singapore Country Head Mark Evans.

“We’re pleased to join Project Guardian and play a role in fast-tracking the development of a stable, secure digital asset ecosystem which will be essential to meeting the future needs of our customers across the region,” stated Evans.

Improving Cross-Chain Interoperability of Tokenized Asset

The bank’s role in the project will also examine ways to improve interoperability between blockchain systems. This effort is crucial for overcoming the fragmentation that currently exists in the tokenized asset ecosystem, limiting its broader adoption.

Additionally, the project will focus on demonstrating how tokenized assets can reduce settlement times and operational costs, enabling faster and more transparent financial transactions.

“We are pleased to join Project Guardian and look forward to demonstrating how our emerging Digital Assets capabilities, such as A$DC, can be used to support our customers to move goods and capital across the region,” said ANZ Banking Services Lead Nigel Dobson.