New Exchange Claims It Can Tokenize Shares of AirBnb, Uber, SpaceX

Crypto startups Zilliqa and MaiCoin have teamed up to create a centralized security token exchange in Singapore that will apply blockchain technology to the trading of traditional asset classes.

Announced today, Hg Exchange aims to act as a "One-stop solution" for token issuers, buyers, sellers and market makers, providing participants access to privately held shares and security tokens.

Hg claims to be the first "Member-driven exchange" in southeast Asia seeking to merge the traditional finance industry with the nascent crypto space, meaning any participants in the platform must go through the licensed financial intermediaries attached to the exchange.

"It is envisaged that Hg Exchange will provide access to high-growth startups and also decacorns such as Uber, Airbnb, Space X, Grab and Didi Chuxing, which are currently not within reach of the average investor."

The exchange has already signed a memorandum of intent with its first four members: Phillip Securities, PrimePartners, RHT Capital and Fundnel.

"The digital-first strategy adopted by Hg Exchange is envisioned to seamlessly connect private enterprises with the right investors, and also democratize the capital market by providing investors with a chance to participate alongside their institutional counterparts," he said.

Any financial intermediaries signing up to the exchange need to be licensed to conduct activities by the Monetary Authority of Sinagpore, Hg noted.

The exchange has also applied to participate in MAS' FinTech Regulatory Sandbox.

Zilliqa operates what it calls a "High-throughput public blockchain platform," and claims to solve scaling issues with sharding, which breaks the main blockchain up into separate, smaller units to more efficiently process transactions.

MaiCoin is a digital asset exchange platform that offers both trading and payment services out of Taiwan.