Make, buy or partner: how banks and asset managers are responding to tokenisation

Original: Tim Habicht, “Gründer von Beratungsboutique mit Krypto-Fokus: ‘Viele Asset Manager sind inzwischen hellhörig geworden’”, fundview.de, 31 July 2023 (in German)

In July 2023, fundview.de spoke with Sebastian Liebscher about the impact of the German Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), the Crypto Fund Units Regulation, the DLT Pilot Regime and MiCAR on banks and asset managers. His observation: many financial service providers are now looking into tokenisation, and innovation teams are moving from planning to implementation. Some firms, however, are still focusing too much on their existing business.

For large institutions, the strategic question is make, buy or partner. When investing in FinTechs, Liebscher advises always reviewing regulation and the team alongside the product, as many FinTechs underestimate regulatory requirements. With the new legal framework, he argues, Europe is well placed to take a leading role in digital assets and the financial market infrastructure of the future.

Key takeaways

• The new legal framework is a driver of innovation, not an obstacle.
• Make, buy or partner is the key strategic question for large firms.
• Due diligence on FinTechs must review regulation, product and team together.

The interview reflects the situation as of July 2023. Client and team figures in the original refer to that date.

Read the full interview on fundview.de (in German)