Zodia Custody and GEMx launch institutional-grade gemstone tokenization investment products

According to ChainCatcher news reported by FinanceFeeds, institutional investors can access the gemstone market through the tokenized product EmGemX, backed by physical emeralds. This product is jointly launched by Swiss fintech company GEMx and Zodia Custody, a compliant custodian supported by Standard Chartered Bank and Japan's SBI Holdings, offering fractional ownership of high-quality emerald collections stored in secure vaults and independently appraised. According to GEMx data, the relevant emerald assets appreciate at an average annual rate of about 9%.

Zodia Custody will provide asset custody services regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). GEMx CEO Paul Poltner described this move as "an important milestone in bringing institutional-level trust to the gemstone investment market." The EmGemX tokens are pegged 1:1 to the underlying gemstones, with ownership and transaction records stored on the blockchain.

This collaboration aligns with financial institutions exploring the trend of tokenizing real-world assets, aiming to enhance the transparency and accessibility of illiquid markets through blockchain technology. Recently, Zodia Custody also partnered with the tokenization platform Securitize to provide compliant custody solutions for tokenized assets such as BlackRock's U.S. Dollar Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).