Singapore-based digital asset trading and custody startup iStox has raised $5 million from South Korea's Hanwha Asset Management.
The latest investment in iStox follows similar partnerships with Thailand's Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group and Japan's Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings. Other key shareholders include Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Temasik fund Heliconia.
Istox claims to be first regulated capital markets platform in any major financial centre to support the one-stop issuance, custody and trading of digitised securities.
The company is currently enrolled in the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) FinTech Regulatory Sandbox. It expects to graduate and go live within the next three months.
Danny Toe, founder and CEO of Singapore-based ICHX Tech, which operates the iStox platform, says: "Our relationships with partners like Hanwha are allowing us to build a powerful foundation to develop iStox into a pioneering service that addresses the evolving needs of 21st century investors. These partnerships will take on an even greater importance in early 2020, when iSTOX transitions into full operational status."