Aegis Custody, a Hong Kong-licensed digital asset custodian, has launched a service that allows asset owners to create digital representations of their real-world assets. Called DigiQuick, the service creates new asset management and financing opportunities for asset owners, while mitigating the issues of permanence and authenticity.

The service supports the creation of both non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and fungible tokens (FTs). Once the assets are digitized, owners can manage them without the need for paperwork and can transfer them to any ethereum wallet.

In the case of capital advance assets, such as those held by payment processors, owners will be able to use them as collateral for short-term financing.

The company says the platform will support the digitization of other real-world asset types, including real estate investment trusts, precious metals, private debt, corporate assets, accounts receivables, green energy assets, and commodities.

Investible assets

“Our mission is to make all real-world assets digital and investible,” says chief executive officer Serra Wei. “The launch of DigiQuick is a major step in that direction. Not only are we allowing asset owners to manage their assets more efficiently, but we are enabling liquid markets for previously illiquid assets and easier access to working capital.”

To ensure permanent storage of real-world assets and associated metadata uploaded to the platform, DigiQuick uses a distributed file storage system called InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), digital signatures, and strong encryption.

As a result, the asset is held in a transparent and segregated trust account that no one can modify or manipulate after the token is issued on ethereum, the firm says. In addition, the use of IPFS means the objects will always be available, even in the case of network downtime.

Aegis Custody says authenticity is established through the due diligence (know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering processes) it conducts on every asset owner that wants to digitize assets.

Legal connection

Trust companies are seen as critical to the success of transforming traditional finance because they enable a legal connection between the digitized asset stored on the blockchain and the real-world asset (or its legal proof of ownership) held in custody, the firm explains.

As the digitized assets are issued as ethereum FTs or NFTs, they are accepted by a large number of exchanges and marketplaces and can be held in any ethereum wallet. And regardless of where the tokens are transferred, the original creator will always see a transparent list of all future transactions, the firm adds.

Apart from DigiQuick, the company plans to launch two decentralized finance (DeFi) products, SkyVault and Ciao, along with its own DeFi token, SkyRocket, to provide a bridge between investors and DeFi investment opportunities.

Founded in 2018, Aegis Custody uses regulated fiduciary trust companies in Hong Kong to hold all digital assets in segregated and transparent trust accounts.