Deutsche Bank-backed Taurus, Aztec unveil private token standard for financial institutions

Key Takeaways

• Taurus and Aztec unveiled an open-source confidential token standard for the tokenization of debt and equity.
• The private CMTAT security token standard uses zero-knowledge proofs to preserve customer privacy on blockchains.

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Taurus SA, a digital asset infrastructure backed by major financial entities like Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and StateStreet, has partnered with the Aztec Foundation to create a new open-source confidential token standard for debt and equity, a move aimed at bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology.

The collaboration is aimed at addressing a key hurdle to institutional adoption: privacy. With the new standard, financial institutions can issue tokenized assets on public blockchains while maintaining customer privacy, according to Taurus.

The token standard leverages zero-knowledge proofs developed by Aztec, which allow transactions to be verified without revealing the underlying data.

As noted, the open-source code, written in the Noir programming language, implements a private version of the CMTAT security token standard. With this implementation, details of ownership, transactions, and other sensitive information are hidden from the public blockchain.

“Tokenizing financial instruments on public blockchains unlocks immense potential. By enabling private, compliant transfers, we bridge the gap between institutional needs and decentralized technologies,” said JP Aumasson, Taurus’ Chief Security Officer.

The release comes as financial institutions increasingly explore the potential of blockchain to streamline operations, reduce costs, and create new financial products. However, regulatory compliance and data privacy remain obstacles.

Without robust privacy solutions, the large-scale adoption of blockchain by banks, investment firms, and other financial institutions is unlikely, commented Arnaud Schenk, Executive Director and board member of the Aztec Foundation.

The Taurus-Aztec collaboration seeks to overcome these challenges, offering a solution that balances the benefits of blockchain with the stringent requirements of traditional finance, according to Schenk.

“Aztec has been building cryptographic tools to bring real-world assets onto public blockchains since 2017, and we are thrilled to see Taurus’ successful leveraging of Noir and Aztec’s layer 2,” he stated.

The development could accelerate the tokenization of a wide range of assets, potentially transforming capital markets.

The code is publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/taurushq-io/private-CMTAT-aztec.

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