Taurus Launches Enterprise-Grade Custody and Tokenization Platform on Solana
1min read Taurus, a digital asset infrastructure firm, has launched an enterprise-grade custody and tokenization platform, Taurus-Capital, on the Solana blockchain. The platform aims to serve global financial institutions seeking to build tokenized asset solutions. The integration will enable banks and issuers to custody and stake any Solana-native tokenized assets via the custody platform, Taurus-Protect, and to issue programmable tokenized assets on Taurus-Capital.
Taurus' decision to integrate with Solana was driven by institutional demand for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization solutions. Jürgen Hofbauer, head of global strategic partnerships at Taurus, stated that this integration allows banking and enterprise clients to access an advanced platform to tokenize assets like equity, debt, structured products, funds, tokenized deposits, and CBDCs while minimizing costs and operational complexities.
The platform is part of the growing RWA industry, which involves minting financial and tangible assets on the blockchain to improve accessibility and liquidity. Taurus raised $65 million in a Series B fundraising round in February 2023, led by Credit Suisse, with participation from Deutsche Bank, Pictet Group, Cedar Mundi Ventures, Arab Bank Switzerland, and Investis. Following the raise, Taurus expressed its potential to see the digital asset industry reach a value of more than $10 trillion by digitizing private assets.
The Swiss Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Act, introduced in 2021, played a significant role in enabling regulated tokenization services for banks. Hofbauer noted that these rigorous compliance requirements allowed banks to provide tokenization services under clear regulatory guidelines, making the convergence of traditional finance and digital assets no longer theoretical. The integration resulted from real institutional demand from Taurus' client base, particularly from banks in the Middle East looking to expand their digital asset capabilities on Solana.
European financial institutions are increasingly interested in enterprise-grade crypto solutions. In April 2024, Germany's largest federal bank, the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, started offering crypto custody solutions after partnering with the Austria-based Bitpanda cryptocurrency platform for its institutional custody platform. In February, DZ Bank, Germany's second-largest bank, announced its plans to launch a crypto trading pilot on its digital asset custody platform in November 2023.
