Safely storing and exchanging your digital assets

What are digital assets?

Assets are a form of property that has value for a company or person. For example, machines, real estate or artwork. Assets can also be digital. Think of:

• a digital contract that shows you've invested in something;

• personal data that may be shared;

• cryptocurrency: digital money that isn't managed by banks or governments, but which people can use to buy or sell things online.

These are all examples of property that you can store, validate (assess the value of) and trade.

The bank’s new role

Because of new technologies, banks need to prepare for a different role in society. For example, in the future we might also have a part to play with non-financial assets. Or we might get a different responsibility when it comes to financial assets.

In some areas, we might not be needed at all. Look at blockchain: the system where bitcoin was the first successful digital asset. Contracts on a blockchain work automatically – without another company needing to check whether they're being executed properly. Because this technology isn't controlled by one party, it could change the way we pay globally. And maybe even renew the entire monetary system.

Tokenized assets by ABN AMRO

As a bank, we help you issue and store digital assets. We also digitize traditional, physical assets. We call this 'tokenization'. We're currently researching how we can issue digital (tokenized) assets. For example:

• shares

• bonds

• investment funds

Trading in tokenized assets is faster and easier than the traditional way. This makes it more accessible for everyone to participate – including smaller investors, because:

• the process is more efficient and transparent;

• digital assets are easier to (re)sell;

• this trading continues 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Working with artificial intelligence (AI)

In addition to blockchain – a digital ledger – and tokenization, we work with artificial intelligence (AI). These are computer systems that perform tasks that normally require a human brain.

Like other sectors, we see the opportunities that AI offers. That's why we're researching how we can use it to better help our clients. Through smart analysis, for example. And when we give clients advice, we’re not just concerned with what we say – but also how we say it. And we automate time-consuming, repetitive manual tasks. Such as certain risk analyses and fraud detection. With the help of AI, we can see small changes in patterns – even when it involves huge amounts of information.

We innovate together

Collaboration and learning from other companies are essential for successful innovation. That's why we're always looking for partnerships and connections. For example, we have:

• invested in Motive Partners;

• a partnership with Techstars;

• our own Doorpakken platform;

• our own Challengers – like New10, Franx and Tikkie.

At ABN AMRO, we innovate in three areas: sustainability, digital assets and platformification. Does your organization work in any of these areas? We’d love to share our expertise with you! Contact us here.