This week, Cyberdyne Tech Exchange (CTX) of Singapore announced itself as the world’s first regulated digital exchange for tokens backed by real assets, fully live and open for business. Tokens on CTX, powered by technology from the Nasdaq Exchange, will represent fractional value in real assets including green infrastructure, equity, real estate, art, bitcoin and Ethereum.
CTX will allow qualified asset owners, accredited investors, institutions and corporations, to issue and trade in such digital assets by the second half of this year. It will also provide settlement and custody of the tokens.
Earlier this month, CTX received Capital Market Services licensing from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, having previously received a approval-in-principle for a Recognized Market Operator license in December 2020, and a prior exempt Payment Service Act license. In an official statement on the launch this week, the exchange, which was established in 2018, said it sees exciting potential in the issuing and trading of tokens of green assets, be it solar or wind farms, smart and sustainable buildings, green industrial parks, sustainable agriculture and zero emission mobility.”
“The new equity”
“We believe security tokens will be the new equity and will drive the next wave of the digital economy,” said Dr. Bo Bai, PhD, CTX Executive Chairman and Co-Founder. “For investors, it paves the way for fractional ownership of hard-to-access investments and for businesses, it offers a new source of funding that is cost-efficient, trackable, and highly liquid.
“CTX will seamlessly connect mainstream financial institutions and accredited investors to innovative green assets on a robust exchange that will operate within the rigorous and progressive regulatory framework that Singapore offers.”
Dr. Bai is also the founder and chairman of private equity investment firm Asia Green Fund (AGF), CTX’s largest institutional shareholder, with some $2 billion in managed client assets. He was previously a partner and managing director at Warburg Pincus.
In a comment this week, Bai added that CTX is convinced that the future of global exchanges is “regulated, digital and green,” and hopes that CTX will become the “driving force for green financing.”
AGF has ensured that the carbon footprint of its investments is quantified and certified with independent agencies such as Bureau Veritas. Dr. Bai said CTX will apply that same approach and will be the first exchange to require carbon emission disclosures for all assets traded on its system, allowing both issuers and investors to track the carbon footprint of the assets in their possession.
CTX’s trading architecture will use Nasdaq’s matching and market surveillance engines, which are currently used by national exchanges, clearing houses, central securities depositories, and regulators in over 50 countries.
Like Nasdaq, CTX requires all issuers to satisfy listing standards that include both qualitative and quantitative criteria. All issued asset-backed tokens are priced via CTX’s proprietary book building process to ensure transparency.
