Taurus, the blockchain technology firm, has signed a deal with the UAE’s Zand Bank for custody, tokenization, and blockchain connectivity. Zand is the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) first digital bank (UAE) and holds a full banking license. Meanwhile, Taurus’ backers include Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Arab Bank Switzerland and Pictet Group.
Zand launched in 2022 with a focus on corporate, institutional and wealth clients. Chairman Mohamed Alabbar is the founder of Emaar Properties, known for developing the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall, and Franklin Templeton is one of the bank’s backers.
The bank plans to launch a digital asset offering covering cryptocurrencies, NFTs, tokenized securities and digital currencies. Last month it signed a deal with MANTRA the Dubai-based layer one blockchain which plans to specialize in the tokenization of real world assets (RWA).
Zand will provide nstitutional grade digital asset custody leveraging the Taurus-PROTECT wallet solution, which will be deployed on premises. It will also use Taurus-CAPITAL to issue and support asset servicing for tokens issued on both public and permissioned blockchain networks.
“Our partnership with Taurus signifies a new benchmark for digital asset services marking a new era of banking excellence, where security, versatility, and client-centric solutions converge to redefine the very essence of digital economy,” said Michael Chan, CEO at Zand.
Apart from providing these technology solutions, Swiss-based Taurus operates the TDX exchange for tokenized assets and cryptocurrencies. In Switzerland, Taurus utilizes the supportive laws that do not mandate a central securities depositary (CSD) for post-trade in digital assets, as long as the trading venue is appropriately regulated.
