In the last couple of weeks, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has unveiled new blockchain offerings as part of its Quartz solution. The first is Quartz for Markets, a tokenized securities solution that targets exchanges, custodians and other market infrastructures. The second is a cryptocurrency custody offering that uses Thales Luna hardware security modules.
Other TCS solutions are already widely used by major market infrastructures. For example, TCS BaNCS for Market Infrastructure and Custody solutions (conventional custody) are used by 50 institutions.
The new offering isn’t purely limited to stocks and can support fixed income and warrants. It can also cater to other digital asset classes targeted for tokenization, such as real estate, precious metals, art, and loyalty points.
“Tokenization democratizes access to assets by turning material as well as digital assets into tokens that can be traded at a fraction of the current cost. This represents an opportunity for MIIs (market infrastructure institutions) to launch innovative new services around tokenized assets, attract new classes of investors and drive growth,” said R Vivekanand, Global Head, Quartz, TCS.
Quartz for Markets aims to provide an end-to-end solution including KYC/AML, issuance, atomic settlement, matching and custody. The token standards supported include Ethereum’s and R3’s Corda.
A year ago, TCS first unveiled its Quartz Smart Solution for Crypto Services that targets banks and financial institutions. That offering supports cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and digital cash payments.
Meanwhile, TCS is up against stiff competition from startups and incumbents for both security token and custody solutions. In the latter case, startups focused on core custody technology include Fireblocks, Anchorage, METACO and Ledger. But several incumbents are also offering solutions. These include Pyctor from ING and several big custodians, BNY Mellon has partnered with Fireblocks, and Nomura created a joint venture with Coinshares and Ledger for Komainu Custody. Standard Chartered previously invested in METACO and late last year partnered with Northern Trust to launch Zodia Custody.
