Doha: QNB Group, Standard Chartered and DMZ Finance jointly announced that the Dubai International Financial Centre's (DIFC) first regulated tokenised money market fund, the QCD Money Market Fund (units in QCDT), has been officially launched, setting an industry benchmark for Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization in the Middle East.
The fund initiated and underlying investment is managed by QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, with DMZ Finance serving as co-initiator and exclusive provider of tokenization infrastructure.
The Fund appointed Capricorn Fund Managers (DIFC) Limited (CFMD) to act as the Fund Manager, while Standard Chartered, one of the world’s leading international banks, serves as custodian of the QCD Money Market Fund, providing custody of the underlying assets. In 2024, Standard Chartered officially launched its regulated digital asset custody services in the DIFC.
Silas Lee, CEO of QNB Singapore, commented on the official launch of QCDT: "The official launch of QCDT, a tokenized money market fund, marks a pivotal advancement using blockchain technology to empower investors to seamlessly integrate high-quality, yield-bearing assets from traditional finance into the digital economy. This fund brings the stability of traditional assets such as US Treasury bills and USD-denominated deposits into a digital token, making them more accessible, liquid, transparent and more importantly, ready for use in smart contracts on blockchains such as collaterals for trading credits and loans.”
Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, added: "Standard Chartered is focused on delivering the trusted infrastructure that international investors expect, while supporting the convergence of traditional and digital finance.”
Nathan Ma, Co-Founder and Chairman of DMZ Finance, stated: "As the first fund under the QCD umbrella of tokenized funds, QCDT effectively connects exchanges with institutional clients. With strict asset segregation and deep collaboration with banking partners, QCDT will unlock significant potential in addressing liquidity needs. Upon launch, major institutional clients and listed companies have started coming on board.”
