Singapore’s ADDX, the exchange for tokenized securities, has attracted investment from Korea’s KB Securities, a subsidiary of KB, Korea’s largest bank. The funding is part of its $20 million extended pre-Series B round. In May, the company announced a $58 million round that included new investors such as the Thai stock exchange SET, Thailand’s third-biggest bank Krungsri as well as Hamilton Lane and UOB. Cumulative venture backing totals $140 million.
The latest addition joins a long list of big name investors, including the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and state-owned Temasek’s investment arm Heliconia Capital. Its backers extend to Japan and Korea, such as the Development Bank of Japan, Tokai Tokyo Financial and Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management, amongst others.
Some of the funds will go towards extending ADDX Advantage, the firm’s wealth management platform for banks and intermediaries. It also plans to expand geographically and look for additional licenses beyond its Singapore registration.
ADDX (formerly iStox) has already been involved in some high profile blockchain-based digital securities issuances, such as a $100 million Singtel bond together with UOB Bank. Tokenized bonds are just one of the digital assets it supports. Others include private credit, other fixed income, private equity, hedge funds, commercial paper and real estate.
As with all security token platforms, one of the aims is to democratize investment. That doesn’t mean the average person can afford to invest, as the opportunities are limited to accredited investors for regulatory reasons.
However, distributed ledger lowers the barriers to entry by reducing the cost of digital securities issuance and administration, which means that the minimum amount invested can be far smaller. Hence, some investments previously restricted to institutions can now attract investment from high-net-worth individuals (HNWI). Additionally, ADDX provides a secondary market.
