Latest news with #ZIGChain
Reuters
7 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Apex Group and ZIGChain Forge Strategic Alliance to Launch Tokenized Fund Infrastructure
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 24, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- In a significant alignment between global finance and next-generation blockchain infrastructure, Apex Group, opens new tab — a $3.4 trillion fund administrator — and ZIGChain, opens new tab have announced a strategic alliance to launch the region's first fully regulated, on-chain fund ecosystem focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. The initiative is being launched in partnership with founding members Truleum Venture Partners, Tokeny, and Zamanat. Unveiled at an exclusive gathering in Dubai, the alliance brings together industry leaders in fund administration, tokenization compliance, asset management, and regulatory design. Its goal is to deliver a modular, Shariah-compliant infrastructure for launching and managing trillions in tokenized funds — deployed natively on ZIGChain and built to meet institutional standards. This marks a major turning point in the institutional adoption of tokenized finance. By tokenizing entire fund structures rather than individual assets, blockchain integration becomes more operationally viable for large financial institutions. For Apex Group, this move reflects a clear strategic trajectory in Web3 infrastructure, following its acquisition of Tokeny and now expanding into fully on-chain fund ecosystems, where permitted in terms of the applicable regulatory frameworks. 'This is the institutional blueprint for unlocking the global fund market,' said Abdul Rafay Gadit, co-founder of ZIGChain. 'Apex Group's reach, Tokeny's compliance architecture, and Truleum's regulatory expertise — tied together on ZIGChain — form an institutional-grade foundation for a new era of on-chain capital markets. It's not every day that a pre-launch chain partners with one of the biggest financial institutions in the world. This is how tokenization goes mainstream, and we are honoured to help make it happen.' Apex Group is a leading provider of fund administration, financial infrastructure, and regulatory services, with operations in over 50 countries and $3.4 trillion in assets under administration. Its subsidiary Tokeny — recently acquired by Apex Group — is the creator of ERC-3643, the leading global standard for permissioned digital securities. 'This alliance is a natural extension of Apex Group's mission to modernize fund infrastructure globally,' said Christiane El Habre, managing director at Apex Group – Middle East. 'We're proud to support this first-of-its-kind initiative and help drive compliant tokenization across new markets and asset classes.' The alliance represents a long-term commitment to embedding tokenization into the global fund ecosystem. By enabling programmable, compliant fund structures with built-in regulatory guardrails, asset managers gain the tools to operate more efficiently, scale globally, and access new distribution channels in accordance with regulatory frameworks. 'Tokenization introduces a structural shift in fund management by enabling programmability, transparency, and near-instant settlement without compromising regulatory oversight. When implemented within a robust regulatory framework, it allows asset managers to launch compliant, modular funds with greater operational efficiency and global distribution potential. This alliance is a decisive step toward embedding these capabilities at an infrastructure level.' said Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, chairman of the Middle East Stablecoin Association (MESA) and member of the UAE Securities & Commodities Authority's Asset Management Industry Panel. The alliance reflects a broader shift underway in institutional finance, where traditional asset managers are increasingly exploring blockchain-native infrastructure to modernize fund operations. With the global asset management industry reaching $128 trillion in assets under management, opens new tab in 2024, the opportunity for tokenized, programmable fund structures is significant, and rapidly gaining traction. Zamanat, a founding member and native ZIGChain dApp, is currently pursuing over $3 billion in tokenized fund strategies to be executed through this framework. Additional institutions and service providers are in active discussions to join the alliance, signaling accelerating interest across the Middle East and beyond. As momentum builds, ZIGChain is positioning itself as the default programmable settlement layer for compliant, institution-ready fund infrastructure, anchoring the next phase of growth in on-chain asset management. About ZIGChain ZIGChain is a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain designed to democratize access to investment opportunities, facilitate financial inclusion regardless of income level, technical skill, or geographic location. ZIGChain enables developers and institutions to launch scalable, compliant protocols for profit-sharing, fund tokenization, and real-world asset management. Its ecosystem includes Zignaly,, opens new tab a licensed social investment platform connecting over 600,000 users with more than 150 professional portfolio managers. ZIGChain also supports Zamanat, the world's first Shariah-compliant real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform, combining ethical finance with programmable blockchain infrastructure. For more information, visit opens new tab. About Apex Group Apex Group is dedicated to driving positive change in financial services while supporting the growth and ambitions of asset managers, allocators, financial institutions, and family offices. Established in Bermuda in 2003, the Group has continually disrupted the industry through its investment in innovation and talent. Today, Apex Group sets the pace in fund and asset servicing and stands out for its unique single-source solution and unified cross asset-class platform which supports the entire value chain, harnesses leading innovative technology, and benefits from cross-jurisdictional expertise delivered by a long-standing management team and over 13,000 highly integrated professionals. Apex Group leads the industry with a broad and unmatched range of services, including capital raising, business and corporate management, fund and investor administration, portfolio and investment administration, ESG, capital markets and transactions support. These services are tailored to each client and are delivered both at the Group level and via specialist subsidiary brands. The Apex Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, is the Group's passionate commitment to empower sustainable change. To learn more, visit opens new tab. Media Contact Isabel G., Luna PRisabel@ ### SOURCE: ZIGChain Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire See release on EZ Newswire
Arab News
25-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistani pioneer launches first Islamic blockchain to tap real-world asset boom
KARACHI: Pakistan's pioneering blockchain entrepreneur, Abdul Rafay Gadit, has launched what his team says is the world's first Shariah-compliant Layer 1 blockchain, aiming to capitalize on a record surge in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and meet rising demand for Islamic-compliant digital finance tools. ZIGChain, which launched its mainnet beta on Tuesday, is built as a base-level blockchain called a 'Layer 1' that lets developers create apps to trade and manage real-world assets like property, commodities or traditional securities on a blockchain. Putting RWAs on blockchains, known as tokenization, has become one of the fastest-growing areas in crypto and traditional finance. The market is estimated to have surged 260 percent to $50 billion this year as more institutions use blockchain to make trading these assets easier and more transparent. Analysts say the trend reflects how financial institutions are moving real-world assets onto blockchains to improve liquidity and transparency. ZIGChain says it stands out as the first chain purpose-built to meet Islamic finance principles, a set of rules that, among other things, prohibit interest (riba) and excessive uncertainty (gharar), by offering native compliance tools and audit mechanisms for developers and institutions. 'Accessing reliable and transparent investment infrastructure has historically been difficult, not just for retail users, but even for experienced managers,' Gadit, ZIGChain's co-founder, said in a statement marking the mainnet beta launch. 'With ZIGChain, we're taking a meaningful step toward changing that by focusing deeply on real-world assets as the foundation for long-term, scalable wealth generation.' The launch comes at a pivotal moment for Pakistan's crypto industry. Islamabad in March set up an official Crypto Council to regulate the sector for the first time and named Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) as its strategic adviser. Pakistan is estimated to have around 40 million crypto users. Unlike general-purpose blockchains, ZIGChain inherits a ready base of more than 600,000 users and 150 professional fund managers through its link to Zignaly, a licensed social investing platform. This solves what experts often call the 'cold-start problem' for new chains that struggle to attract developers and liquidity in early stages. ZIGChain's ecosystem includes Zamanat, described by its backers as the world's first Shariah-compliant RWA platform, as well as a $100 million fund supported by DWF Labs and other partners to spur development. The project launches with native applications already lined up, including an AI-powered decentralized exchange, a staking service, a lending protocol accepting RWAs as collateral, and a Shariah-compliant DeFi aggregator. 'This mainnet beta launch represents a shift from vision to foundation,' said Bart Bordallo, co-founder and CEO of ZIGChain. 'We've built a high-performance, interoperable architecture that can handle the complex requirements of DeFi, RWA tokenization, and automated investment protocols at scale.' By positioning itself at the intersection of real-world assets, Islamic finance and blockchain technology, ZIGChain aims to serve the massive $4 trillion global Islamic finance market, where a young, digitally savvy Muslim demographic is driving demand for new products. With its launch now underway, ZIGChain will gradually roll out key features like its validator network, token bridges and staking tools, which its founders say will keep the system stable and compliant as more users join.
Int'l Business Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
ZIGChain's Wealth Management Engine Is Redefining On-Chain Capital Growth
The crypto space is often dismissed as speculative, with few real-world use cases and overly complex tools that leave most users behind. Blockchain networks like ZIGChain are rewriting that narrative by building practical, user-centric infrastructure — starting with the Wealth Management Engine ( WME ), a decentralized framework for creating, managing, and scaling investment strategies. WME offers a decentralized investment framework that improves financial accessibility — no spreadsheets, no multi-protocol juggling, no gatekeepers. It brings together institutional investors, wealth managers, and everyday users in one unified platform, enabling unique investment strategies and revenue generation for all stakeholders. The Problem: Crypto Promised Access — But Delivered Complexity Although the crypto industry has tried to solve legacy finance's gatekeeping problems, most web3 protocols have a difficult user interface. Emerging sectors like real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, with a $30 trillion market potential, have exposed a critical flaw: access without usability is meaningless. Platforms often struggle to maintain consistent trading volumes. Token holders face significant challenges in rebalancing portfolios or finding suitable exit positions. Meanwhile, institutional investors remain hesitant to participate without compliant infrastructure, deep liquidity, and sustainable price discovery mechanisms. Most web3 products build sophisticated technicalities without focusing on professional-grade asset management, enhanced user experience, and an easily accessible investor base. WME aims to solve the problem by creating a novel financial user experience for digital asset investments. Building The Foundations Of Accessible On-chain Finance WME inherits Zignaly's Profit-Sharing ecosystem to create a protocol-native architecture for scalable and accessible on-chain investment strategies. By turning strategies into native digital assets, it offers retail investors a seamless interface for using its yield-generating services by abstracting away the complexities of investment strategy execution. Users participate by funding capital to receive strategy tokens, representing the corresponding yield and risk value. The engine enables the underlying infrastructure to handle compounding rewards, track portfolio performance, and automate fees while users simply hold tokens. Since the tokens represent a wealth manager-led strategy, users can participate in institutional-grade investments without manually executing portfolio rebalances and hedging. WME also integrates investment layers into a unified experience for users, as they don't need to juggle multiple protocols, fees, and bridges. This helps users to access yields through NAWA's aggregator vaults, trade on Oroswap , liquid stake tokens on Valdora , access meme tokens on , lend-borrow through Permapod, or participate in Zamanat , a Sharia-compliant RWA Marketplace, all with Fireblocks -guaranteed security standards. This isn't just democratizing wealth — it's also making it smarter and safer for institutions. Institutional investors can leverage WME for its auditability, built-in compliance mechanism, and automated fees. Tokenization service providers can transparently manage on-chain strategies and depend on a standardized delivery model, reducing operational costs. We are witnessing a shift from fragmented, speculative crypto to composable, secure, and accessible digital finance. This evolution empowers everyone — from first-time investors to institutional fund managers — to build, scale, and manage wealth directly on-chain. By making performance-based, programmable strategies a native part of the blockchain experience, ZIGChain is setting the foundation for decentralized capital growth at scale.
Malaysian Reserve
30-04-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
ZIGChain Summit 2025 Reveals Shariah RWA Platform, $25M AI Fund, and June Mainnet Launch
DUBAI, UAE, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The inaugural ZIGChain Summit 2025 brought together visionaries from all spheres of the TradFi, Web2, and Web3 world to unveil a bold new chapter in their mission to decentralized wealth generation. Held in Dubai, the event delivered three breakthrough announcements: the launch of Zamanat, a Shariah-compliant Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization platform built on ZIGChain; a $25M Innovation Fund to support AI-powered finance tools; and the official mainnet go-live date set for June 25. From tokenized real estate and compliant DeFi to intelligent investing, ZIGChain made one thing clear — it's not just building infrastructure, it's architecting the future of inclusive, next-gen finance. Introducing Zamanat: The World's First Shariah-Compliant RWA Tokenization Platform on ZIGChain Perhaps, the summit's most consequential announcement was the unveiling of Zamanat, a Shariah-compliant platform designed to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs) by – a leading venture builder and investment firm in MENA. By building Zamanat on ZigChain, aims to democratize investments and access to wealth creation by adhering to values of ethical investing and transparency in order to power financial inclusion. Facilitating access to tokenized real-world assets, Zamanat empowers wealth managers and investors within the ZIGChain ecosystem to participate in previously inaccessible investment opportunities such as real estate, Sukuks, private credit, invoice factoring, commodities, and other tangible assets. Zamanat's introduction is timely, aligning with the UAE Government's strategic vision to become a global hub for digital assets and Islamic finance. The UAE has been proactive in integrating blockchain technology into its financial and governance infrastructure, evident from initiatives like the Dubai Land Department's sandbox for tokenized real estate transactions. Empowering Builders: $25mn DeFAI Fund As the Summit unfolded, another major highlight was the launch of the $25mn DeFAI fund by ZIGLabs, & DWF Labs. The initiative aims to develop innovative solutions that integrate artificial intelligence with blockchain technology, with a focus on advancing financial services, decentralized asset management, and digital wealth strategies. This fund comes on top of the $100mn ecosystem fund that was announced in April 2024 by ZIGLabs & the roll out of various builder support programs (labelled 'Kickstart') also emanating from the ZIGChain Summit, With this kind of support available, it is no wonder that ZIGChain, despite being in test-net, was able to put up a huge ecosystem showcase spanning so many builders. With a go-live date now clear, these support and incentive mechanisms are set to supercharge building in the ecosystem in the months to come. The countdown to ZIGChain's mainnet begins With a mainnet launch date set for 25th June 2025, ZIGChain seems to have positioned itself as a blockchain ready for retail onboarding. The Summit highlighted this operational readiness with more than 10 teams already building dApps and protocols natively on ZIGChain flanked by more than a dozen partners looking to integrate. Notable amongst them are Oroswap, an AI powered conversational DEX, Permapod, a lending protocol that accepts RWAs as collateral, and Nawa Finance, a sharia compliant DeFi aggregator that has recently onboarded Amanie as Sharia Advisors. While the decentralized applications (dApps) represent new technological developments, the community supporting them remains well-established. Zignaly, with its 1mn + users is expected to be the flagship wealth management protocol on the blockchain and be a source of early liquidity. This is what is makes the ecosystem attractive even from an institutional perspective with the likes of (one of the largest venture builders in the MENA region), DWF Labs (the leading venture fund in the Web3 Space) and PureVPN (leading cybersecurity company in the world) who have come to the fore with proposed investments in the validator set and the ecosystem as a whole. Notably, the ZIGChain Summit had a strong TradFi attendance with some of the leading figures of the UAE & Global financial landscape in attendance. With the recent announcement of UAE based Real Estate developer Ellington Properties exploring real estate tokenization with ZigChain, institutional interest is clearly evident from the outset. All Roads Lead To The Wealth Management Engine While these announcements and initiatives are exciting, the real differentiator is what ZIGChain is doing at a technology level with its wealth management engine – a modular investment management tech stack that shall enable anyone to launch a wealth creation protocol on ZIGChain and manage funds for other investors using CeFI, DeFi, or RWA opportunities. The technology is designed to streamline the investment process by minimizing complexity, including time, skill, and knowledge barriers, thereby facilitating financial intermediation and broader global access via blockchain infrastructure. This has been the vision of the core founding team behind ZIGChain since 2018 – when they started Zignaly, that is, how do users onramp a global majority that is disadvantaged from an income, knowledge or domicile perspective when it comes to wealth generation opportunities. That effort has led to a 1mn + strong community on Zignaly – the target for ZIGChain, the founders say, is everyone. About ZigChain ZIGChain is a Layer 1 blockchain built for wealth generation, powered by Zignaly's established social investment infrastructure, to create scalable, compliant, and efficient solutions for digital asset management. Founded in 2018, Zignaly has served over 500,000 users and is now extending its investment-focused capabilities to Web3 through ZIGChain. Contact:Media Teamsupport@ Logo:
Associated Press
30-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
ZIGChain Summit 2025 Reveals Shariah RWA Platform, $25M AI Fund, and June Mainnet Launch
DUBAI, UAE, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The inaugural ZIGChain Summit 2025 brought together visionaries from all spheres of the TradFi, Web2, and Web3 world to unveil a bold new chapter in their mission to decentralized wealth generation. Held in Dubai, the event delivered three breakthrough announcements: the launch of Zamanat, a Shariah-compliant Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization platform built on ZIGChain; a $25M Innovation Fund to support AI-powered finance tools; and the official mainnet go-live date set for June 25. From tokenized real estate and compliant DeFi to intelligent investing, ZIGChain made one thing clear — it's not just building infrastructure, it's architecting the future of inclusive, next-gen finance. Introducing Zamanat: The World's First Shariah-Compliant RWA Tokenization Platform on ZIGChain Perhaps, the summit's most consequential announcement was the unveiling of Zamanat, a Shariah-compliant platform designed to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs) by – a leading venture builder and investment firm in MENA. By building Zamanat on ZigChain, aims to democratize investments and access to wealth creation by adhering to values of ethical investing and transparency in order to power financial inclusion. Facilitating access to tokenized real-world assets, Zamanat empowers wealth managers and investors within the ZIGChain ecosystem to participate in previously inaccessible investment opportunities such as real estate, Sukuks, private credit, invoice factoring, commodities, and other tangible assets. Zamanat's introduction is timely, aligning with the UAE Government's strategic vision to become a global hub for digital assets and Islamic finance. The UAE has been proactive in integrating blockchain technology into its financial and governance infrastructure, evident from initiatives like the Dubai Land Department's sandbox for tokenized real estate transactions. Empowering Builders: $25mn DeFAI Fund As the Summit unfolded, another major highlight was the launch of the $25mn DeFAI fund by ZIGLabs, & DWF Labs. The initiative aims to develop innovative solutions that integrate artificial intelligence with blockchain technology, with a focus on advancing financial services, decentralized asset management, and digital wealth strategies. This fund comes on top of the $100mn ecosystem fund that was announced in April 2024 by ZIGLabs & the roll out of various builder support programs (labelled 'Kickstart') also emanating from the ZIGChain Summit, With this kind of support available, it is no wonder that ZIGChain, despite being in test-net, was able to put up a huge ecosystem showcase spanning so many builders. With a go-live date now clear, these support and incentive mechanisms are set to supercharge building in the ecosystem in the months to come. The countdown to ZIGChain's mainnet begins With a mainnet launch date set for 25th June 2025, ZIGChain seems to have positioned itself as a blockchain ready for retail onboarding. The Summit highlighted this operational readiness with more than 10 teams already building dApps and protocols natively on ZIGChain flanked by more than a dozen partners looking to integrate. Notable amongst them are Oroswap, an AI powered conversational DEX, Permapod, a lending protocol that accepts RWAs as collateral, and Nawa Finance, a sharia compliant DeFi aggregator that has recently onboarded Amanie as Sharia Advisors. While the decentralized applications (dApps) represent new technological developments, the community supporting them remains well-established. Zignaly, with its 1mn + users is expected to be the flagship wealth management protocol on the blockchain and be a source of early liquidity. This is what is makes the ecosystem attractive even from an institutional perspective with the likes of (one of the largest venture builders in the MENA region), DWF Labs (the leading venture fund in the Web3 Space) and PureVPN (leading cybersecurity company in the world) who have come to the fore with proposed investments in the validator set and the ecosystem as a whole. Notably, the ZIGChain Summit had a strong TradFi attendance with some of the leading figures of the UAE & Global financial landscape in attendance. With the recent announcement of UAE based Real Estate developer Ellington Properties exploring real estate tokenization with ZigChain, institutional interest is clearly evident from the outset. All Roads Lead To The Wealth Management Engine While these announcements and initiatives are exciting, the real differentiator is what ZIGChain is doing at a technology level with its wealth management engine - a modular investment management tech stack that shall enable anyone to launch a wealth creation protocol on ZIGChain and manage funds for other investors using CeFI, DeFi, or RWA opportunities. The technology is designed to streamline the investment process by minimizing complexity, including time, skill, and knowledge barriers, thereby facilitating financial intermediation and broader global access via blockchain infrastructure. This has been the vision of the core founding team behind ZIGChain since 2018 - when they started Zignaly, that is, how do users onramp a global majority that is disadvantaged from an income, knowledge or domicile perspective when it comes to wealth generation opportunities. That effort has led to a 1mn + strong community on Zignaly - the target for ZIGChain, the founders say, is everyone. About ZigChain ZIGChain is a Layer 1 blockchain built for wealth generation, powered by Zignaly's established social investment infrastructure, to create scalable, compliant, and efficient solutions for digital asset management. Founded in 2018, Zignaly has served over 500,000 users and is now extending its investment-focused capabilities to Web3 through ZIGChain. Contact: Media Team [email protected] Logo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE ZIGChain
