Cardano (ADA) and DigiFT: Institutional RWA Integration Strategy

Executive Summary

DigiFT is a next-generation regulated platform for institutional-grade tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Backed by top-tier institutional partners, DigiFT brings together regulatory compliance, smart contract infrastructure, and deep financial expertise to enable secure, on-chain access to regulated RWA products.

Regulatory Credentials

• Headquartered in Singapore
• First on-chain platform licensed by:
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as:
    • Recognised Market Operator (RMO)
    • Capital Markets Services (CMS) provider
  • Received Approval in Principle from Hong Kong SFC for:
    • Type 1 license (distribution of on-chain tokenized securities)
    • Type 4 license (advisory of securities)

Core Functions

FUNCTION #1: AUTHORISED REGULATORY ISSUANCE AND DISTRIBUTION CAPABILITY

Deploy all regulated financial and regulatory infrastructure backing globally recognised high grade on-chain income assets; i.e.:

• UBS uMINT (Money Market Fund Token)
• Invesco iSNR (US Senior Bank Loan Fund Token)

FUNCTION #2: SMART CONTRACT FUNCTIONALITY

DigiFT will deploy its 'on-chain' RWA smart contract exchange on Cardano, including:

• Battle-tested Mint/Burn smart contracts
• Subscribe/Redeem smart contracts
• Approved by both regulators and high-grade issuer partners (UBS and Invesco)

FUNCTION #3: LIST CARDANO STABLECOIN (USDA) ON DIGIFT RWA EXCHANGE PLATFORM

• Pair USDA against high grade assets:
  • UBS uMINT
  • Invesco iSNR
• Full compliance with all regulatory, licensing and technical requirements

FUNCTION #4: AUTHORISED INSTANT LIQUIDITY POOL PROVISION

• Licensed to run Real Time Liquidity (RTL) Pools for:
  • "Instant" on-chain redemption of RWA tokens (24/7)
• Future extension potential:
  • Instant liquidity pools supported by native Cardano stablecoin

Strategic Summary

DigiFT provides a "Day 1" regulatory infrastructure bridge for Cardano, delivering:

1. DigiFT Mint/Burn functionality
2. Subscribe/Redeem capabilities
3. Stablecoin-to-RWA (STO) exchange
4. Instant liquidity pools

All designed to facilitate Cardano's global institutional RWA access.

Regulatory Foundation

• Singapore MAS licenses:
  • Recognised Market Operator (RMO)
  • Capital Market Securities (CMS)
• Hong Kong SFC Approval-In-Principle (AIP):
  • Type 1: Distribution of on-chain tokenised securities
  • Type 4: Advisory of securities

Cardano (ADA) at a Critical Juncture: Strategic Imperatives for DeFi and RWA Dominance

Cardano (primary platform for the ADA token) is a leading Layer 1 blockchain however it is at a critical juncture in its evolution. While it has established itself as a robust, scalable, and sustainable blockchain ecosystem, it faces increasing competition from other Layer 1 platforms that are rapidly gaining traction in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and real-world asset (RWA) institutionalization space. To maintain its competitive edge and achieve widespread adoption, Cardano must strategically leapfrog existing DeFi solutions and position itself as the go-to blockchain for institutional-grade RWA integration.

KEY CHALLENGES

Challenge #1: Innovation, Mindshare and Brand Positioning vs. competitor DeFi ecosystem maturity gap. Lack of RWA presence, the long-term opportunity.

Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem, while growing, currently lags competitors like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX) in terms of total value locked (TVL), developer activity, and user adoption. This gap limits Cardano’s ability to attract institutional players seeking more mature and battle-tested platforms. Cardano faces a need to differentiate itself from competitors by clearly articulating its unique value proposition in the RWA space, which offers a significantly long-tail of growth, evidenced by the significant growth of the TradFI space entering RWA; e.g. UBS, Blackrock, Fidelity, Invesco, Wellington, Citi, Bank of New York Mellon, Nomura, Soc Gen, SBI Group, Citadel, Brevan Howard….etc

Challenge #2: RWA Institutionalization Barriers. Overcoming manual interventions and complex regulatory requirements.

Institutional adoption of RWAs on blockchain requires robust regulatory compliance, permission infrastructure built on public chains, allowing interoperability with traditional financial systems, and proven security and governance. Cardano must address these barriers to gain the trust of institutional investors and asset issuers.

Challenge #3: Ecosystem fragmentation and lack of credible mainstream projects to attract liquidity and interest from both new and old users.

Given the lack of notable global projects building upon Cardano, challenges for seamless integration between DeFi protocols, RWA tokenization platforms, and institutional-grade infrastructure (e.g., custody solutions, KYC/AML frameworks) hinders Cardano’s ability to provide a unified ecosystem for RWAs, upon which the Cardano institutional ecosystem can rally around.

DigiFT: The Heart of Cardano's Institutional RWA Strategy

DigiFT uniquely sits at the heart of the Cardano community Institutional RWA strategy.

Benefits:

• DigiFT is a licensed Smart Contract enabled RWA platform.
• Increased TVL, offered natively on Cardano, and improved transaction volumes.
• DigiFT delivers mainstream institutional finance to Cardano, including:
  • UBS uMINT (Money Market Fund Token) with US$ 9.0 BN AUM
  • Invesco iSNR (US Senior Bank Loan Fund Token) with US$ 6.0 BN AUM
  • Full regulatory approval by Singapore MAS and Hong Kong SFC

Competitive Advantage:

Working with DigiFT, Cardano will:

• Leapfrog competitor chains (e.g., SOL, AVAX) with established DeFi ecosystems
• Establish itself as the premier blockchain for institutional RWA integration

Technical Implementation:

DigiFT will deploy its regulatory authorized on-chain RWA smart contract exchange on Cardano, including:

• Mint/Burn smart contracts
• Subscribe/Redeem smart contracts
• Attracting transaction volumes and providing RWA use cases

Stablecoin Integration:

• DigiFT will list the Cardano Stablecoin on our Smart Contract Exchange
• Provides instant use case paired against high-grade institutional assets
• Regulatory approved Real Time Liquidity (RTL) Pools for "instant" on-chain redemption:
  • Offered 24/7
  • Will attract institutional users of UBS and Invesco products
  • Supports NET MINT GROWTH of the native Cardano Stablecoin (USDA)

Ecosystem Impact:

This integration will:

• Renew interest through accelerated RWA on-chain growth
• Drive mainstream finance adoption
• Revitalize and incentivize Cardano developers, projects and users
• Provide important regulated, stable, safe and secure income assets
• Establish Cardano L1 chain as institutional-grade infrastructure

Regulatory Compliance:

DigiFT is accepted by:

• Various regulatory bodies
• Financial institutions
• Technology providers

Creating a compliant ecosystem featuring:

• Security
• Permissioned access
• Interoperability
• Smart contract capabilities for regulated RWAs

Bridging Traditional and Decentralized Finance:

DigiFT's "Day 1" regulatory infrastructure:

• Bridges TradFi and DeFi
• Provides Cardano access to global institutional RWAs (e.g., UBS/Invesco)
• Serves as a unique RWA rally point for unified liquidity
• Offers material upside AUM growth potential for Cardano

MILESTONE 1

Milestone Condition:
Upon successful notification of proposal acceptance. DigiFT kindly requests a downpayment of 35% of total project funding for this initial milestone in order for work to commence.

Note:
Given DigiFT's regulatory licensing requirements, we are required to notify its regulatory authorities of the decision to build upon Cardano, and require upfront commitment of 35% of total project financing to be downpaid in order to commence building.

Funding Amount:
35% of total project funding.

Payment term:
On successful notification of proposal acceptance. Payment due within 2 weeks. Upon successful notification of approval by Cardano for this application, as soon as practicable, the initial Milestone 1 down payment (35% of total project).

Delivery Measurement:
Successful, regulatory-compliant deployment of:

• UBS uMINT (~4.5% yield)
• Invesco iSNR (~8% yield) assets on Cardano

Benefit for Cardano:

• Global PR announcement
• Reflects Cardano is both instantly involved in RWA
• Has immediate access to DigiFT B2B institutional partners (UBS, Invesco and others)

MILESTONE 2

Funding Amount:
35% of total project funding.

Milestone Condition:
Deployment of selected DigiFT:

• 'Mint / Burn'
• 'Subscribe / Redeem' smart contracts deployed on Cardano chain
• Upon successful testnet transactions for these modules

Payment term:
Upon submitting successful public chain evidence of the testnet transactions. Payment due within 2 weeks after review.

Benefit for Cardano:

1. Cardano community members with the right financial qualification (accredited investors) can access global high-grade RWA income assets natively on Cardano L1 Chain
2. Benefits include:
   • A> They enjoy stable and secure income
   • B> Cardano chain increases transaction volume via RWA transactions
   • C> Cardano has basic RWA tokenised building blocks upon which they can build:
     • Sustainable project tokenomics
     • Credible and sustainable business models

MILESTONE 3

Funding Amount:
30% of total project funding.

Milestone Condition:
Upon successful listing of Cardano stablecoin on DigiFT smart contract platform.

Benefit for Cardano:

• Cardano Stablecoin (USDA) and native users will have immediate RWA use case to access credible and regulated RWA security tokens
• Cardano Stablecoin can have opportunity to have cross chain use for RWA cross market use

Additional Benefits:
Other comprehensive benefits to the Cardano are outlined in detail in sections 3 and 5.

COST BREAKDOWN: Cost (ADA) at USD at 0.50 conversion

Smart Contract Development
Develop and test Plutus smart contracts to support primary market functions (RWA token issuance, subscription, redemption, instant redemption) and secondary market functions (AMM, OTC, P2P trading):
ADA 1,000,000

StableCoin Integration (USDA)
Direct work with USDA, enable RWA token subscription and redemption using USDA with 1:1 conversion:
ADA 240,000

Chain Infra Integration
Integrate DigiFT with the Cardano blockchain, including on-chain data scanning, transaction broadcasting, and interaction with Cardano-native smart contracts. Adapt frontend UI to support Cardano wallets:
ADA 310,000

Security & Audit
Conduct 3rd party security audits to ensure compliance and contract safety:
ADA 240,000

Instant Liquidity Pool*
Build and develop instant liquidity pool, providing instant redemption:
ADA 3,000,000

Regulatory Compliance
Licensing, KYC / AML infra integration, Legal reviews:
ADA 300,000

Marketing & Partnerships
Promote ADA Significant step into RWA Assets, immediately accessing DigiFT's institutional assets, UBS and Invesco. Promote DigiFT integration within the Cardano ecosystem. Introduce to TradFI institutional partners considering L1 blockchains to deploy upon. B2B Crypto institutions, custodians, CEX's, wallet providers of DigiFT institutions building on ADA. Promote USDA stablecoin usage to Institutional and Web3 ecosystem:
ADA 910,000

GRAND TOTAL:
ADA 6,000,000

MILESTONE 1

Condition:
Upon successful notification of this proposal acceptance.

Request:
DigiFT kindly requests a down payment of 35% of total project funding for this initial milestone in order for work to commence.

Note:
Given DigiFT's regulatory licensing requirements:

• Required to notify regulatory authorities of decision to build upon Cardano
• Require upfront commitment of 35% of total project financing to be downpaid to commence building

MILESTONE 2

Task:
Deployment of selected Mint / Burn, Subscribe / Redeem smart contracts on Cardano.

Resources:

• DigiFT will handle deployment with existing team of 15 engineers
• Requires support from Cardano:
  • x3 Cardano engineers for 4 weeks
  • Purpose: Ensure education and training for appropriate technical standards

MILESTONE 3

Task:
Successful listing of Cardano Stablecoin on DigiFT platform.

Resources Required:

• x2 Cardano engineers for 2 weeks

DigiFT: A Built and Live Platform

Current Deployments:
Predominately on ETH, ARB, SOL and SUI.

Regulatory Achievements

• Building compliant and regulated RWA Smart Contract Exchange since 2021
• World's first to be licensed by Tier 1 regulators:
  • Singapore MAS:
    • Licensed RMO/CMS since Dec-2024
    • Previously in Singapore regulatory sandbox for 18 months
  • HK SFC:
    • License granted since Feb-2025
    • Subject to SFC final approval (expected May-2025)

Institutional Partnerships

Evidence of established track record:
Partnered with global investment managers:

• UBS (uMINT Token)
• Invesco (iSNR Token)

Leadership Team

Unique combination of TradFi and Crypto Native experience:

• Averages over ~20 years institutional experience
• Former executives from:
  • Citibank
  • Standard Chartered
  • Pimco
  • Fidelity
  • BofA
  • East/West Bank

Web3/Crypto Expertise:

• Team averages over ~5 years Web3/crypto native experience
• Deep expertise in:
  • Web3 Tech Architecture
  • Institutional governance and compliance

Core Capabilities

• Trusted to build secure, reliable and regulated RWA smart contract infrastructure
• Global 24/7 accessibility
• Smart contract development and security expertise
• Trusted by global institutions (UBS and Invesco) to:
  • Deploy and distribute RWA security tokens
  • Support major public blockchains:
    • Ethereum
    • Arbitrum
    • Solana
    • Sui
    • Ripple
    • (Hopefully Cardano)

Technical Infrastructure

Services include:

• Core issuance
• Trading distribution
• Settlement service
• Instant RTL liquidity provision

Hosting:

• Microservices hosted on Alibaba Cloud Singapore
• Provides:
  • Client onboarding
  • Trading interface
  • Market surveillance
  • Customer service functions

Integration:

• Standard API/H2H links to:
  • External service providers
  • Partner banks

Key Features

• One-stop marketplace:

  • Offers financial assets in token form
  • Each asset undergoes stringent due diligence
  • Approved by independent Listing Committee

• Institutional-grade compliance:

  • Legal framework endorsed by Tier-1 regulators:
    • Hong Kong SFC
    • Singapore MAS
  • Ensures:
    • Security of investments
    • Adequate investor protection

• Multi-chain deployment:

  • Supported chains:
    • Ethereum
    • Arbitrum
    • Solana
    • Sui
    • Ripple
    • Others
  • Enables RWA assets for various on-chain use cases:
    • Lending
    • Margin trading

• Trading & Liquidity:

  • Secondary market trading
  • Instant liquidity pool features
  • Customized for investors' liquidity needs
  • Supports:
    • AMM
    • OTC
    • P2P trading modes
    • Real-time redemption function

1. Initial Grant Support and Regulatory Commitment
   The initial grant support will be able to fund and manage the ongoing maintenance for this project. Should DigiFT make the commitment to build upon Cardano, DigiFT must notify its regulators (Singapore MAS and HK SFC) of this decision to deploy on Cardano.

   We would have to maintain the project and report any 'down-time' of the service to our respective regulatory authorities, hence we take the decision to build upon Cardano in a serious and professional manner.

   We would look to actively promote and advertise the deployment of DigiFT Smart Contract RWA Exchange onto Cardano, generating interest and inflows to the chain.

2. Technical Support
   Please see answer above.

3. Marketing Support
   Please see answer above.

Proven Institutional Delivery Capabilities

Our track record of delivery to our institutional partners UBS and Invesco, is a confirmation of our ability to help Cardano leapfrog its competitors and get into RWA immediately, in a regulated and compliant manner.

Regulatory-Compliant On-Chain Solution

• Our RWA Smart Contract Platform is licensed by:
  • Singapore MAS
  • HK SFC
• Purpose: To deliver institutional RWA smart contract ONCHAIN SECURITIES

Liquidity and Value Proposition

DigiFT smart contract RWA exchange and its institutional asset providers (UBS and Invesco to start) provide:

• Significant and strong case for liquidity
• Increased TVL potential
• Yield-bearing products for the Cardano community

Stablecoin Integration Synergies

Along with DigiFT's ability to integrate with:

• Native stablecoin USDA
  • Currently being widely pushed internally within Cardano community
  • Evidenced by discussions in various community circles
  • Supported by multiple submitted proposals

Institutional Outreach Advantage

Importantly, DigiFT is additionally able to:

• Promote Cardano Stablecoin externally
• Target audience:
  • Institutional providers
  • Institutional investors