Podcast Highlights: Secure, compliant, and seamless digital asset custody
Welcome to the 136th edition of the eXponential Finance Podcast. Whether you listen to us for the first time, or are a regular, we appreciate your spending time with us.
Rakkar Digital is a Singapore-based company that provides digital asset custodian services to institutional clients in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. The company is backed by SCB 10X, the investment arm of SCB — Siam Commercial Bank, and powered by Fireblocks. Leveraging cutting-edge multi-party computation (MPC)-CMP custody infrastructure as their underlying technology, Rakkar Digital provides the highest level of security for assets along with bankruptcy remote mechanism of asset segregation. The company supports a wide range of assets and blockchain protocols and offers highly customizable policy engine, giving clients greater control and flexibility over their assets. With fast service-level agreements (SLAs) and round-the-clock support from its team of blockchain experts and security professionals, Rakkar Digital is committed to delivering institutional-grade custody services.
Rakkar Digital has obtained a Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) licence in Hong Kong and an organisation controls 2 (SOC 2) Type 1 attestation. Operating offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam, Rakkar Digital is well-positioned to provide custodian services to clients across the region.
Arthit (T) Sriumporn, Founder and CEO of Rakkar Digital, previously worked for Techcombank (TCB), one of the largest joint stock banks in Vietnam. He successfully built the corporate digital business and launched Techcombank Business Banking. Prior to that, as a Senior Vice President of Siam Commercial Bank, Arthit was behind the success of SCB Business Anywhere, an inbound and outbound cross-border payments service for businesses, individuals, and Thailand’s migrant workers from other Southeast Asian countries.
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The following is a summary of the conversation produced with Claude.
Arthit explains that two years ago, they foresaw the growing demand for qualified third-party custodians as regulations evolved and institutional players entered the crypto space. Rakkar differentiates itself through its robust security infrastructure built on multi-party computation technology from Fireblocks, combined with additional governance, app control, and physical security controls they have implemented.
Rakkar Digital is taking a “secure, compliant, and seamless” approach — balancing high security with a user-friendly experience via their proprietary mobile app and web portal. This allows customers to initiate and approve transactions themselves with multi-factor authentication and approval policies.
Arthit provides an overview of the evolving regulatory landscape across Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong for digital asset custodians. He sees opportunities emerging as big players and institutions adopt crypto and real-world assets get tokenized, necessitating qualified custodial services.
On competition, Arthit believes there is room for multiple custodians as institutions will likely spread assets across several providers for risk diversification. Rakkar’s banking backing from SCB also lends credibility. Looking ahead, the company is exploring integrations to allow bank customers to invest in and move between digital assets and fiat currencies seamlessly.
In terms of security challenges, Arthit acknowledges risks like deepfakes but has implemented countermeasures like randomized voice prompts during video recordings for identity verification. Manual approvals and air gaps also prevent automated/scripted fund withdrawals.
With a $10 million seed round raised in 2022, Rakkar has over a year of runway. They aim to build traction and customers before likely raising another round in late 2023 to expand across Asia. Arthit emphasizes prudent cost management alongside growth.
Overall, the podcast highlights Rakkar’s vision to provide secure, compliant, yet user-friendly digital asset custody, positioning itself in the rapidly evolving institutional crypto adoption landscape across Asia.
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