Digix, the blockchain company behind the world’s first gold-backed token, announced today a strategic partnership with Singapore-based CEZEX Digital Exchange, a fully regulated and compliant market exchange that obtained a license from CEZA (a special economic zone in the Philippines) for listing and trading of digital assets.
This partnership enables Digix’s gold-backed token, DGX, to be listed on the CEZEX platform, as well as expand the smart asset company’s burgeoning influence in Southeast Asia.
Strengthening Southeast Asia’s Digital Assets Network
CEZEX is the first fully licensed overseas virtual crypto exchange that is authorized to operate a “Security Token and Asset-Backed Token Exchange” as issued by Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), the Philippine government-controlled corporation tasked to manage and supervise the Cagayan semi-autonomous region. CEZEX is operating a unified platform for traders, brokers and issuers to list and trade under a fully regulated and compliant market exchange. Under the license, CEZEX is permitted to allow for trading of any asset class (such as securities, commodities, derivatives, currencies, metals).
CEZEX aim is to create a more structured market environment for listing and trading digital assets, as well as support the development of the digital asset industry (in Southeast Asia) into a more professional, structured, efficient and sustainable sector. This core objective for CEZEX is very much in line with Digix and shared vision for bridging the gap between traditional financial markets and cryptocurrency markets. This is done by providing market participants access to tokenized markets through the operation of a regulated market. Through a more closely engaged business relationship, CEZEX and Digix work to facilitate the accelerated integration of global markets.
Philippines
CEZEX was established with the support of CEZA and forms part of the Philippine government’s wider initiative to establish a startup hub for fintech and blockchain related ventures in the region. Its ambition is to establish the Cagayan Valley as the “Crypto Valley of Asia”
CEZA has setup a Self-Regulatory Organization, the Asian Blockchain And Cryptocurrency Association (ABACA) to oversee the governance of the digital assets in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport region, providing a regulated environment to ensure that participants of CEZEX comply with the regulatory framework (KYC/AML/listing rules/trading rules).
The partnership also strengthens the use-case of Digix’s gold-backed tokens (DGX) as accessible, and safe forms of securities for trading. DGX tokens are presently listed on internationally recognized digital exchanges including Bitfinex, KyberSwap, and Uniswap. CEZEX will list DGX tokens on its platform on Monday, July 29th.
Stimulating Economic Growth in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone
The strategic partnership between CEZEX and Digix comes at the lastest juncture in Southeast Asia’s drive for FinTech developments.
With cities across Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore vying to become de-facto regional headquarters for FinTech capital investments, the Cagayan Special Economic Zone in the Cagayan Province of northern Luzon, represents the Philippines’s first economic zone to offer hosting of financial technology companies. The development and growth of CEZEX will help bolster CEZA’s reputation as one of the leading fintech and cryptocurrency venture hubs for startups and will place the Philippines more firmly on the Asian and global map of fintech and blockchain innovation.
The initiative for CEZEX is led by a consortium that has been successful in building and operating FinTech, capital markets and trading platforms such as Coinhako (crypto wallet & digital currency exchange platform), Katalyse (previously known as Fundyourselfnow, Asia’s leading crypto crowdfunding platform), Inbase Partners (digital assets asset management and advisory firm), PPDE (leading derivatives operator in Cambodia) and Formosa Financial (platform for treasury management of digital assets in Taiwan).
“CEZEX is excited to announce the listing of DGX by Digix – a token backed by grams of real gold that can be physically redeemed in Singapore. As pioneers in bringing traditional assets onto the blockchain bringing the Digix project to the CEZEX exchange is the next step towards creating a global marketplace for tokenized products.”, said Kenneth Tan, CTO of Cezex
“Digix’s plan to expand into more on-off ramps exchanges are one of our ways to increase adoption into the traditional Gold retail customer base. CEZEX, having that capability, gives our users the accessibility into owning that via fiat currencies.”, said Shaun Djie, COO of Digix.
Digix DGX
Digix is the world’s first smart-asset company using blockchain that accounts for the authentication and provenance of 99.99 percent investment-grade gold bullions. Physical gold bars are registered on the blockchain, and every 1 gram of physical gold registered is pegged to 1 DGX token.
Every DGX token represents 1 gram of gold that is stored in accredited precious metals vaults in Singapore and Canada. Retail investors holding DGX tokens can exchange their token back at Digix to redeem the physical investment-grade gold bullion.