INTRODUCTION:
It appears that a partnership between the Bermuda-based Keon Foundation and Algorand will supply the proper ingredients for Keon to grow its Keon Finance Ecosystem and secure the necessary licenses to allow consumers to access Keon’s regulated products and services. The Keon Foundation Ltd. highlights the decisions that led to this relationship in the following article.
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Virtual Asset Service Provider Chooses to Build Its Institutional Decentralized Permissioned Asset Management Ecosystem on Algorand
HAMILTON, Bermuda, June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The directors today announced that Keon Foundation Ltd. (“The Foundation”), which will serve as the virtual asset service provider (VASP) for the Keon Finance Ecosystem (“Keon”), has decided to partner with Algorand as its layer-1 blockchain.
The Foundation’s initial focus will be on the development of KeonX, a permissioned, decentralized exchange designed to be one of the lowest cost DEX’s available, as well as the introduction of KeonFi, a marketplace where investors can explore and subscribe to investment strategies while maintaining complete custody of their assets. A derivatives DEX (KeonXD), IDO LaunchPad, Farm Auctions, and the Keon NFT marketplace are among the Phase 2 products that will form a broader Keon Finance Ecosystem, all leveraging the Algorand blockchain. The Foundation plans to apply for a digital assets business license in Bermuda once the protocol is built, which will allow users to access Keon’s regulated products and services.
“It was imperative for us to select a layer-1 that is of institutional quality. As Keon is designed to be a regulated VASP, we needed a blockchain that is secure, scalable and flexible to ensure that digital asset issuances and transactions on the Keon ecosystem can adhere to securities laws in the jurisdictions of the ecosystem’s users,” explained Lawrence Newhook, a director and member of the Foundation.
Kunall Parmar, Chief Technology Officer of the Foundation, noted “We evaluated a number of other chains, but none of them compared to Algorand. Given the complexity of the Keon Ecosystem and our ambitious plans for growth, we found them to offer the best technology.” Mr. Parmar continued “Algorand’s ASA Token standard and its programming infrastructure are more robust and offer increased features, flexibility and security over other level-1 blockchains, which is a significant advantage in the regulated space. Additionally, Algorand has had 0% downtime. That level of dependability is essential if we want institutions to participate.”
The Foundation expects completion of the KEON token and smart contracts by early Q3 2022.
“We’re excited to welcome the Keon Foundation to the ever growing Algorand ecosystem.” said Keli Callaghan, head of marketing at Algorand. “It’s great to see yet another organization leveraging best-in-class technology to accelerate tokenized asset management at the institutional level.”
Rahul Parmar, a director of the Foundation, added “We are thrilled to announce Keon’s suite of products on the Algorand blockchain. Algorand will serve as a fast and scalable layer to our ecosystem, and its users will benefit from Keon’s array of DeFi products, which are conveniently brought together in a single ecosystem.” Mr. Parmar continued, “This is just the beginning. While initial products and investment strategies will focus on digital assets, we see extraordinary potential in applying the underlying DeFi and blockchain technology to traditional assets and introducing them to the Algorand Blockchain. We are designing KeonFi to allow for the non-custodial management of investment strategies consisting of tokenized equities, fixed income or commodities and also to create virtual funds of tokenized real-world assets – that’s what’s most exciting to us, as it is the next phase in asset management,” asserted Mr. Parmar.
About the Keon Foundation Ltd.
The Keon Foundation is organized as a non-profit Bermuda exempted company limited by guarantee which will develop the software and serve as virtual asset service provider for the Keon Finance Ecosystem. The team includes talent from blue chip firms across the investment industry, including Goldman Sachs and Point72 Asset Management. The company was founded in 2022 and is headquartered in Bermuda. The Foundation does not yet conduct ‘digital asset business activities’ as such term is defined under Bermuda’s Digital Asset Business Act 2018 (“DABA”) that would require it to be licensed under DABA. The Foundation has therefore not yet applied for and is not licensed under DABA. For more information, visit //www.keonfoundation.org .
About Algorand
Algorand is transforming economic models and economies of all kinds. Founded by Turing Award-winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand’s high-performing Layer-1 blockchain is unparalleled for bringing fast, frictionless, and inclusive technologies to users worldwide. Algorand is reshaping multiple industries – from TradFi and DeFi to new creator economies and beyond. With a commitment to interoperability and consistent delivery, Algorand’s sustainable technology powers more participation, transparency, and efficiency for all. As the technology of choice for more than 2,000 global organizations, the Algorand ecosystem is transforming the next generation of financial products, protocols and exchange of value. For more information, visit //www.algorand.com.
