Apex Digital 3.0: Building Infrastructure for Global Fund Tokenization

An exclusive interview with Daniel Coheur, Global Head of Digital Assets at Apex Group, about the firm's new tokenization platform.

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Maximilian Vargas & Louis Tellier
August 21, 2025

Some Harvard professors believe they’re infallible. Or at least, they act like it. Take Kenneth Rogoff, the famed economist who once claimed that Bitcoin was more likely to hit $100 than $100,000.

This week, he resurfaced that prediction from nearly a decade ago. And while it hasn’t aged well, Rogoff insists the world — not he — was wrong. As he tells it, he was just underestimating policymakers’ willingness to “facilitate tax evasion and illegal activities.”

Naturally, the comment section was turned off. Not that he believes anyone could teach him anything anyway.

Today, we’ll talk about:

  • Inside Apex Group’s new tokenization platform

  • Banking lobby pushes back on stablecoin yields

  • Industry leaders call on UK chancellor to revise stablecoin agenda

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HIGH SIGNAL NEWS

TOKENIZATION

Apex Digital 3.0: Building Infrastructure for Global Fund Tokenization

New tokenized hedge fund: On Tuesday, Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital announced a partnership with tokenization platform Tokeny and its parent company Apex Group to tokenize $300 million across two of its flagship hedge funds on the Avalanche blockchain.

  • Why it matters: The announcement comes just three months after Apex Group, one of the world’s largest fund administrators, acquired a majority stake in Tokeny and only a couple of weeks after Apex unveiled its new tokenization platform Apex Digital 3.0.

Interview: We sat down with Daniel Coheur, co-founder of Tokeny and newly appointed Global Head of Digital Assets at Apex Group, to discuss the vision behind Apex Digital 3.0, how the company plans to leverage the ERC-3643 standard, and where client demand for tokenization is strongest today.

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Why the environment is now ripe for tokenization:

“Historically, when you looked at tokenization, there were a lot of projects, but most of them were really about digitalization. People were putting tokens onchain, but the key actors, transfer agents, asset services, custodians, didn’t have the capability to service those instruments. If a fund manager wanted to tokenize, they would quickly hit a wall because their service providers simply couldn’t handle it.

Now, we’re entering a new phase. Transfer agents are starting to build these capabilities, custodians can hold the assets, and the infrastructure is finally maturing. We’ve also done a lot of work with regulators behind the scenes to make sure that compliance is properly addressed.”

On Apex’s strategic acquisition of Tokeny to accelerate its role in tokenization:

“As these capabilities started to mature, Peter Hughes, Apex Group’s CEO, recognized the importance of bringing them in-house and decided to acquire us at Tokeny. From Tokeny’s side, we had spent years building the technology to make regulated tokenization possible; Apex brought the servicing scale to apply it globally.

By combining Tokeny’s infrastructure with Apex’s servicing footprint, we now have both pieces of the puzzle. Apex works with hundreds of clients across 52 countries, and over time, we want to support tokenization for thousands of funds globally.”

On the vision behind Apex Digital 3.0:

“Apex Digital 3.0 is the platform we’re building to handle the full lifecycle of tokenized products. That includes fund creation, issuance, administration, custody, and connectivity into the broader ecosystem.

We’re also adding tools that help funds reach more investors, from family offices to wealth managers. That includes features to match funds with the right investors, make it easier for them to be discovered, and set up structures that allow smaller minimum investments.

It’s designed as a two-sided platform. We’ll build applications ourselves, but third parties can build on top as well. That’s important, because we believe shared infrastructure and interoperability are what will unlock the next stage of adoption.”

On why ERC-3643 is central to the strategy:

“Earlier tokenization efforts often failed because they trapped investors inside closed systems. ERC-3643 fixes this by embedding compliance directly into the token, KYC, transfer restrictions, and jurisdictional rules are all enforced onchain. Each investor is tied to a verified digital identity, making tokens both compliant and recoverable if keys are lost.

For us at Apex Group, this standard is the foundation to scale tokenization globally. It keeps traditional roles like transfer agents and custodians in place but lets them operate natively onchain. And because ERC-3643 is open source and governed by an independent association with 140+ members, it enables an ecosystem where developers can build secondary markets, collateralization tools, and entirely new services.”

On client demand and what products to prioritize:

“There’s strong client interest to tokenize their funds, but priorities differ depending on the product type.

For open-ended funds like money market funds, the main focus is making subscriptions and redemptions instant. Using stablecoins, clients will be able to sweep balances into a fund and back out 24/7. That gives them better yield and real-time visibility over their treasury balances.

For closed-ended products like private equity, venture, or credit funds, we’re focused on automating capital calls, enabling secondary trading, and making it easier for investors to borrow against their holdings. Right now, private markets are effectively frozen: investors are often locked into funds for years and have limited options to access their money. That’s why adding liquidity is so important.

Overall, we think we’re close to a tipping point. As infrastructure matures and both assets and investor bases scale, tokenization will stop being something new. It will simply become the way markets operate.”

STABLECOINS

Banking Lobby Pushes Back as Stablecoin Yield Loopholes Spread Across U.S. and Europe

U.S. banks on alert: On August 12, several major U.S. banking groups — led by the powerful Bank Policy Institute (BPI) — urged Congress to “close the stablecoin payment of interest loophole.” Their warning: stablecoin issuers and their distribution partners could drain deposits from banks by offering yield on stablecoin holdings which would “undermine credit creation”.

  • Why it matters: The GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers themselves from paying interest or yield. But the Act does not explicitly extend that restriction to distribution partners such as exchanges. Citing a U.S. Treasury report, the BPI estimates that up to $6.6 trillion in bank deposits could shift into stablecoins if they are able to offer interest or yield.

What we see in practice: The most prominent example is Coinbase, which has long offered rewards on USDC balances. PayPal will follow this summer, offering 3.7% on holdings of its PYUSD stablecoin.

  • “It’s striking that established players like Coinbase and especially PayPal are moving ahead with these programs despite the significant legal uncertainty. Their confidence suggests they see room for change,” a source familiar with the matter told Blockstories.

How the loopholes work: Today’s stablecoin yield products generally fall into three models:

  1. Partner platforms/exchanges: Platforms like Coinbase and Kraken act as distribution partners, offering customers yield on stablecoin balances through revenue-sharing agreements with issuers.

  2. Loyalty/cashback programs: Some providers offer bonuses, rebates, or cashback in stablecoins, making the case that these rewards are linked to spending rather than passive holding.

  3. Through the use of a DeFi protocol: Self-custodial wallets like Coinbase Wallet route users to protocols such as Aave or Morpho to earn yield directly through DeFi, rather than drawing it from the stablecoin’s reserves.

Similar setup in Europe: Under MiCA, stablecoin yield is also banned, but the rule extends to all licensed CASPs, making the framework stricter than in the U.S. Yet new offerings are already operating under a DeFi exemption.

DeFi exemption in practice: In recent weeks, French fintech Deblock became the first licensed provider to let clients earn yield on euro- and dollar-stablecoins via self-custodial wallets. Bitpanda followed this week with a similar product.

  • Approved by regulators: Both firms confirmed to Blockstories that their services rely on DeFi protocols like Morpho Blue and operate outside MiCA’s remit. For Deblock, the financial structure was even approved by the AMF, the French regulator, according to our information.

What’s next: European regulators are expected to expand MiCA in the coming years to explicitly cover DeFi activities, but these developments are still in progress. Meanwhile, the U.S. GENIUS Act will not fully take effect until 2027, and U.S. regulators are actively developing detailed rules to clarify its application.

The banking lobby’s influence goes beyond the big names like JPMorgan. Its strength comes from representing thousands of small regional banks, which collectively carry significant political weight in Washington.

With the GENIUS Act now passed, the focus shifts to rulemaking. Lawyers close to the matter told me that the upcoming process, led by the OCC and U.S. Treasury, will determine how the law is ultimately implemented. Regulators will need to clarify several critical questions:

  • What exactly qualifies as “interest” or “yield”?

  • Can exchanges or fintechs offer rewards without triggering restrictions?

  • How will DeFi-linked yields be treated under the new framework?

Expected public consultations will likely trigger intense lobbying from banks, fintechs, and crypto platforms alike.

A conversation with Tony McLaughlin, founder of Ubyx, who, along with several digital asset industry leaders, sent a letter to the Chancellor outlining the case for reframing the UK’s approach to stablecoins.

  1. Institutional Alpha in Crypto (WisdomTree) — A data-driven overview of how sophisticated investors can capture repeatable, low-risk returns through basis trading.

  2. Digital Assets Custody Standard (CMTA) — An updated report on operational and infrastructure requirements for digital asset custody. Covers custody model types, key management, security practices, and recovery procedures.

  3. Hester Peirce on Project Crypto (Tokenized, Podcast) — SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce outlines a forward-looking vision for crypto regulation in the U.S., touching on self-custody, financial privacy, tokenization and clearer asset classification.

📚 Want more good reads? Our Library features 100+ hand-picked reports on stablecoins, tokenization, and more — updated weekly.

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