Deutsche Bundesbank joins Singapore's Project Guardian to boost asset tokenization

Germany’s Deutsche Bundesbank has joined Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, to advance asset tokenization.

Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, has joined Singapore‘s Project Guardian, an initiative between policymakers and the financial industry to enhance of financial markets through asset tokenization.

In a Nov. 8 press release, the German central bank said it plans to deepen cross-border collaboration as well as advance discussion on “standardization and interoperability of digital assets.”

Under the collaboration agreement, Deutsche Bundesbank will test an interoperable blockchain platform for tokenized and digital funds, though details are yet to be disclosed. Monetary Authority of Singapore deputy managing director Leong Sing Chiong expressed the belief that the Bundesbank’s expertise “will be invaluable as we work together to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenization.”

Deutsche Bundesbank executive board member Burkhard Balz says MAS is working intensively on innovative topics that Germany is also dealing with in Europe, such as pilots with distributed ledgers or blockchain networks. Per Balz, the German central bank wants to leverage the initiative’s resources to find out how asset tokenization “can be put to meaningful use in the financial sector.”

In early November, Singapore disclosed its intentions to promote the commercialization of tokenized assets by developing market infrastructures, deepening liquidity, and establishing industry frameworks to support cross-border transactions. Per Chiong, the country has “seen strong interest in asset tokenization in recent years, notably in fixed income, FX, and asset management.”