The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has aspirations towards encouraging more fintech experimentation, and in November last year, launched a regulatory sandbox that would allow innovative fintechs in legal grey areas to test their solutions in the market, under regulator supervision.
The sandbox allows for this experimentation in the production environment, but within a defined space and duration, along with appropriate safetguards to contain any consequences of failure without too much impact on the national financial system.
And it’s just gained a new entrant—ICHX Tech.
Following in current fintech trends, ICHX is a blockchain-based infrastructure company incubated by Singapore investment firm ICH Group. The company runs the Securities Token Offering (STO) exchange platform, iSTOX, which connects securities issuers with the investment community.
STOs here are similar to the more familiar ICOs, but instead represents an investment contract into more “traditional” assets, like stocks bonds, funds, real estate, etc.
ICHX wants to help cultivate the exchange of STOs in a regulated, transparent and hopefully efficient ecosystem, seeing STOs as a “defining model for capital fundraising in the next decade”.
The platform also sees key investments from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and Heliconia Capital Management, fully owned by Temasek Holdings. The move into the sandbox is seemingly a step for ICHX Tech to getting regulated and licensed by MAS as a recognised market operator.
ICHX Tech is now one of two active participants in MAS’ regulatory sandbox. Its contemporary is Inzsure, an insurance broker solution that’s been in the sandbox since its inception in November last year.
Featured image via the Monetary Authority of Singapore
