Ex-Singapore Parliamentarian's Swiss Company Launches Swiss Franc and Euro Stablecoins

• Singapore investor and former parliamentarian Calvin Cheng's newly rebranded Swiss company, Anchored Coins, was granted membership in the Swiss VQF in early 2023. 
• VQF is the largest and oldest cross-industry self-regulatory organisation in Switzerland and is officially recognised by FINMA, the country's financial services watchdog. 
• Anchored Coins is launching a Swiss Franc-backed stablecoin (ACHF) and a Euro-backed stablecoin (AEUR), and will be issued on the Ethereum and BNB Chain blockchains. 
• DCS Card Centre in Singapore is planning to issue credit cards collateralised by AEUR and ACHF. 

Singapore investor and former parliamentarian Calvin Cheng has announced that his wholly-owned, newly rebranded Swiss company, Anchored Coins AG ("Anchored Coins"), will be issuing two stablecoins - a Euro-backed stablecoin AEUR, and a Swiss Franc-backed stablecoin ACHF. Both stablecoins will be backed 1-to-1 by their respective fiat currencies and held in Swiss banks. The stablecoins will be issued on the Ethereum and BNB Chain public blockchains. 

Earlier this year, the company was granted membership in the Swiss VQF, which means it has to comply with Swiss anti-money laundering obligations. 

Calvin Cheng, Chairman of Anchored Coins said, "Switzerland has very clear regulatory guidelines for the issuance of stablecoins. The reputation of Swiss banks is also second to none. There is a clear need for stablecoins to be pegged to currencies other than the US Dollar, given the regulatory uncertainty in the US. I feel this is the right time and right place, to launch highly compliant stablecoins in two other well-regarded global currencies, the Swiss Franc, and the Euro." 

Cheng further added that his company will comply with the European Union's new Markets in Crypto Assets ("MiCA") regulations once they come into effect in 2024. 

Anchored Coins announced a partnership with DCS Card Centre ("DCS") in Singapore. Formerly known as Diners Club Singapore, DCS is a 50-year-old financial institution that pioneered the issuance of credit cards in the Republic. Through this collaboration, DCS will accept ACHF and AEUR as a form of collateral placement for credit limits on its cards, thereby enhancing the value and utility of both stablecoins. 

Karen Low, CEO of DCS said, "We believe that stablecoins are crucial in bridging digital assets to traditional finance. DCS aims to lead the charge on connecting Web2 and Web3 with integrated payment experiences that are co-created through partnerships. We are proud to partner with Anchored Coins in providing immediate value to their stablecoin holders by using ACHF and AEUR as collateral for instant credit limits on the cards we issue. We currently offer a choice of cards from global payment networks including Diners Club International, Mastercard, UnionPay and soon, Visa." 

Anchored Coins is in the process of launching, and will only be available to institutional partners during the first phase of its development. The company is also in advanced discussions with major digital asset exchanges to be listed. 

ABOUT CALVIN CHENG 

Calvin Cheng is currently the Republic Of Serbia's first Honorary Consul to the Republic of Singapore. Cheng was a former appointed Member of Singapore's Parliament, and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. 

Cheng is a serial entrepreneur, formerly the President of Elite Models for Asia, as well as a director of Singapore's largest luxury events management company Lumina. He was most recently Chairman of Australia Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed EdTech firm ReTech Technology Co, which he led to an Initial Public Offering, together with leading investors from China, including several co-founders of Alibaba, and other Chinese tech companies. 

ABOUT DCS CARD CENTRE 

DCS Card Centre Pte Ltd ("DCS"), formerly known as Diners Club Singapore is a financial institution governed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Banking Act to carry on the business of issuing credit cards or charge cards in Singapore. Established in 1973, DCS was amongst the founding institutions that pioneered cashless payments with its first series of credit and charge cards in Singapore. 

As part of its name change in October 2022, the financial institution embarked on a massive business transformation to expand its network of payments schemes and new payment solutions. Along with a set of new shareholders and a leadership team helmed by industry veterans, DCS has since achieved remarkable milestones. These include an expansion of schemes from just Diners Club International to include Mastercard, UnionPay and Visa, as well as the launch of new solutions such as D-Vault, a feature for cardholders to seamlessly aggregate their assets through funds transfers and digital assets for instant spend limits, and a whole new DCS cards app that enables several card management services to ease customer convenience.