Swiss blockchain startup Taurus has unveiled a new interbank network for digital assets, bringing together 35 banks, including heavyweights like Deutsche Bank and State Street. The initiative aims to enable regulated financial institutions to interact directly with one another while retaining full control over their digital assets.
Dubbed the Taurus-Network (TN), the platform is designed to speed up transactions, reduce counterparty risk, and improve collateral management. It supports both public and permissioned distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), and accommodates a range of assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokenised securities, and digital currencies.
“Network participants retain control of their assets and never rely on Taurus to enter or unwind transactions,” said Vassili Lavrov, head of product infrastructure at Taurus. “TN creates an ecosystem that allows seamless, secure collaboration among institutions.”
Early adopters include Arab Bank Switzerland, Capital Union Bank, Flowdesk, ISP Group, Misyon Bank, and Swissquote, with more major institutions expected to join in the first half of 2025.
Key features of the TN collateral management platform include the ability for participants to pledge assets for instant credit and participate in syndicated loans. Exchanges can also facilitate off-exchange trading with built-in risk and counterparty controls, all without transferring assets from Taurus’s custody system.
Compliance features like travel rule integration, proof of reserves, and automated identity verification are embedded into the platform, significantly cutting down the operational workload related to transaction and compliance management. Taurus claims TN reduces manual compliance tasks by over 90%.
“Joining Taurus-Network empowers us to securely collaborate with other leading financial institutions while retaining full control over our operations,” said Rani Jabban, managing director and ExCo member at Arab Bank Switzerland. “Taurus-Network sets a new standard for efficiency and trust in the industry.”
The launch follows Taurus’s $65 million funding round in 2023, led by Credit Suisse with backing from Deutsche Bank, Pictet Group, Cedar Mundi Ventures, and existing investors.