In 2024, HSBC and Euroclear joined the GL1 initiative, expanding institutional participation alongside earlier participants such as JP Morgan and Citi. This milestone reflects Singapore’s leadership in advancing blockchain innovation and accelerating the exploration of real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation.
Singapore has become a hub for digital asset innovation, driven by progressive regulations, strong institutional engagement, and a commitment to advancing blockchain-powered finance. Since 2022, initiatives like Project Guardian have brought together major financial institutions to explore asset tokenisation and decentralised finance (DeFi) applications within regulated frameworks – paving the way for the future of open, interoperable, and institutional-grade finance.
Today, those efforts are entering a new phase. As industry efforts progress, the focus is shifting from proof-of-concept to broader implementation. Public blockchains are playing a central role in this evolution by enabling broader adoption and integration of tokenised finance. Singapore has been advancing public permissioned blockchain experiments through its Global Layer One (GL1) initiative, which aims to establish digital infrastructure for tokenized assets and applications.
