Security Token Platform iSTOX Lands Another Big Asian Backer

Japanese financial services group Tokai Tokyo is the latest large Asian financial institution to back tokenized securities platform iSTOX.

The $5 million infusion, disclosed Monday, followed the startup’s Series A funding round last month which also was subscribed by a single institution, Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group (KKP), one of the largest Thai investment banks.

No financial details of that raise were disclosed, but the proceeds were to grow the user base of qualified investors, issue tokens based on stocks, bonds and structured products, and expand in Asia.

In a statement, iSTOX said the new partnership with Tokai provides a “strategic gateway” to Japan through that conglomerate’s established investor network there which dates back to 1908.

The iSTOX platform's owner is ICHX Tech, a fintech infrastructure company funded by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Heliconia Capital Management, a subsidiary of the Singapore state-owned investment giant Temasek Holdings.

The platform plans to enter full commercial operation in the first quarter of 2020.

The company said it expects to be the first fully regulated platform to offer security tokens in a major financial hub across the world. iSTOX aims to lower transaction costs by eliminating middlemen and streamlining settlement process – both addressed via tokenization.

Three law firms are advising issuers on the structure and issuance process for tokens to be traded on the platform, including Allen & Gledhill LLP, Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow and Rajah & Tann, CoinDesk previously reported.

In May, iSTOX was admitted into a fintech regulatory sandbox set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Singaporean central bank. Also that month, Chew Sutat, executive vice president of SGX, and Chua Kim Leng, former special advisor of MAS, joined the board of ICHX Tech.