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Digital Securities Platform iSTOX Nets $5M Investment from Korean Firm
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Earlier this week, iSTOX announced a $5 million investment from South Korea-based asset management firm, Hanwha. iSTOX has now received backing from firms located in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea.
iSTOX and its $5 Million Investment from South Korea-based Hanwha Explained
iSTOX is a developing digital securities platform based in Singapore. As an end-to-end platform, iSTOX is designed to facilitate the issuance, trading, and full life-cycle management of digital securities — also referred to as security tokens.
Announced earlier this week, iSTOX has received a $5 million investment from Hanwha, an asset management firm based in South Korea. According to Danny Toe, CEO of ICHX Tech, the parent company of iSTOX,
“As iSTOX continues to grow, our relationships with partners like Hanwha are allowing us to build a powerful foundation to develop iSTOX into a pioneering service that addresses the evolving needs of 21st century investors.”
In November of 2019, iSTOX completed what it calls the world’s first issuance, custody and trading of a regulated blockchain-based security on a single integrated platform. The company said for the first time ever, “investors on our platform were able to buy and sell directly with each other without having to go through brokers, investment banks or any other intermediaries.”
Digital Securities Platform iSTOX’s Fundraising Explained
iSTOX has received a number of notable investors. The platform is backed by Singapore Exchange and Heliconia Capital Management. It also received a $4.58 million investment from Japan-based Tokai Tokyo Holdings.
The firm currently operates through the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s regulatory sandbox designed for companies in the FinTech space. According to the platform’s website, it is expected to graduate from the sandbox and initiate full operation sometime during the first quarter of 2020.
The platform utilizes smart contracts and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to expediate many of the outdated processes associated with securities transactions. For example, the benefits of digital securities include fractional ownership, online markets open 24/7/365, instantaneous settlement cycles, and added liquidity. Many anticipate that such benefits will bring a radical transformation to the way financial securities are bought, sold, and settled.
As far as the digital securities sector goes in Asia, iSTOX seems to be a frontrunner. The firm has been adding significant experience to its team as well.
Lim Mei Shen is the former Monetary Authority of Singapore’s deputy director. She’s now the Chief Compliance Officer of iSTOX. Choo Oi Yee, former UBS managing director, is now the first Chief Commerical Officer for the firm.
What do you think about iSTOX receiving a $5 million investment from South Korea-based Hanwha? We’d like to know what you think in the comments section below.
Image courtesy of Medium.
Tim Fries
Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird's US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
