Cardano Founder Celebrates One of the Largest Deals Ever

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has taken to the X social media network to tout a new partnership between privacy-focused blockchain Midnight and UK-regulated Monument Bank as one of the ecosystem’s largest deals to date. 

Hoskinson has projected that it could potentially drive billions in total value locked (TVL).

Monument Bank announced it will become the first UK-regulated financial institution to tokenize retail customer deposits on a public blockchain. 

For this purpose, it will be using Midnight, which is a privacy-focused network developed within the Cardano ecosystem. 

The £250 million starting line

The rollout of the integration will have three phases. It will begin with a target of £250 million in tokenized retail deposits.

These digital tokens will correspond one-to-one with actual fiat funds held at the bank. 

According to the announcement, the deposits will remain fully backed, redeemable in British pounds (GBP). They will be protected under existing UK regulatory frameworks overseen by local regulations. 

Data privacy has been viewed as a key hurdle to blockchain adoption within the banking sector. 

It is worth noting that Midnight’s architecture uses zero-knowledge cryptography to shield transaction data. In such a way, sensitive financial information remains confidential and accessible only to authorized participants.

Access to private banking tools 

Monument Bank plans to expand its on-chain offerings to bring exclusive financial tools to the retail market. The bank plans to introduce tokenized real-world asset (RWA) investments managed by global asset managers.

The final phase will introduce Lombard-style lending. This will make it possible for retail customers to borrow cash against the value of their investments within the app. This type of credit facility used to be available only for high-net-worth private banking clients.

Monument Bank, which launched commercially in 2022, currently manages approximately £7 billion. It boasts more than than 100,000 customers.