Swiss-based cryptocurrency infrastructure platform Taurus has struck a deal with Zand Bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to enhance Zand’s custody and tokenization services along with its blockchain connectivity.
Through this partnership, Taurus will deploy its infrastructure solutions, allowing Zand to tokenize various financial and real-world assets across both permissioned and permissionless blockchains, operating under UAE regulatory oversight. Additionally, Taurus will facilitate Zand’s issuance of tokenized assets leveraging its node infrastructure. Zand will embrace a wide range of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, digital currencies, and non-fungible tokens, through Taurus’s custody solutions.
Zand, based in Dubai and known for its purely digital banking model without physical branches, achieved the landmark of becoming the first digitally native bank to obtain a license from the Central Bank of the UAE in 222. Although not the inaugural bank in the UAE to provide digital services, Zand’s collaboration with Taurus reflects the evolving landscape of digital banking amid regulatory advancements.
Bashir Kazour, the managing director at Taurus, highlighted the Central Bank of the UAE’s ongoing efforts to reform the country’s digital financial sector as part of broader financial infrastructure transformations. These initiatives include robust Anti-Money Laundering verification protocols and crackdowns on illicit virtual asset service providers. The UAE’s commitment to these measures bore fruit in February with its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list, streamlining international financial transactions in the oil-rich nation.
Noteworthy developments in the UAE following its compliance with the international terrorism financing watchdog have seen the introduction of fresh regulations pertaining to the licensing of stablecoins, potentially impacting foreign investment climate. Nevertheless, the influx of cryptocurrency companies relocating to the UAE and obtaining licenses, such as Binance, Crypto.com, Nexo, Solana, Laser Digital, Hashed Ventures from South Korea, Blockdaemon, and Chainalysis, indicates the country’s growing significance in the crypto sphere.
Taurus, which integrated with the Polygon blockchain in June 2023, boasts backing from notable entities like Swiss Arab Bank, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, among others. It caters to a broad spectrum of clients, ranging from major financial institutions including Swiss Arab Bank and Deutsche Bank to small and medium enterprises. Taurus has recently expanded its operations to encompass Turkey and Canada, underscoring its global presence.
The collaboration between Taurus and Zand Bank marks a significant step towards advancing cryptocurrency infrastructure and fostering digital innovation in the UAE’s financial landscape.
[Image: Source: Taurus]
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