Dubai, UAE, December 8th, 2025, Chainwire
- Follows first-of-its-kind pilot run with Franklin Templeton, Zodia Custody, Avalanche, and CMS demonstrates enforceable bilateral credit within digital assets custody
- Debut at Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025 showcases a breakthrough in institutional credit infrastructure
SemiLiquid, a custody-native infrastructure layer for institutional credit, today announced the launch of its Programmable Credit Protocol (PCP) at Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2025. The groundbreaking infrastructure enables institutions to activate credit against digital and tokenized assets held in custody – without transferring collateral, marking a critical advancement in the evolution of digital capital markets. Developed and launched in Abu Dhabi, the protocol is now planned to be rolled out globally, underscoring the emirate’s rise as a leading hub for digital assets and a launchpad for financial innovation.
The launch is backed by a successful pilot conducted with Franklin Templeton, Zodia Custody, Avalanche, Presto Labs, M11 Credit, Oasis Foundation & CMS. As part of the pilot, Franklin Templeton’s daily-yielding tokenized money-market fund, BENJI, was used as collateral, which remained encumbered throughout the loan lifecycle, under pre-agreed terms and automated triggers. This simulated proof-of-concept allowed institutions to retain full daily yield while granting lenders enforceable security over the assets – eliminating counterparty risk without any collateral movement.
“Programmable assets require programmable credit,” said Rico van der Veen, Co-Founder and CEO of SemiLiquid. “PCP delivers the missing rail that institutions need – a standardized, custody-native & shared legal framework that merges the trust of traditional finance with the efficiency of programmable assets. This marks a shift from incremental upgrades to foundational infrastructure for institutional credit. Abu Dhabi Global Market’s environment has enabled us to develop our solution within a risk-aware framework optimized for digital asset innovation. ”
“SemiLiquid’s PCP brings together innovative industry leaders in an effort to address the inefficiencies in institutional credit,” said Anoosh Arevshatian, Chief Product Officer at Zodia Custody. “Through our participation, Zodia Custody hopes to establish custodial infrastructure as the trust layer for scalable and programmable credit.”
“Programmable credit demonstrates how institutional lending can operate natively within custody without compromising enforceability, compliance, or settlement speed. Avalanche’s high-performance, institutional-grade infrastructure, combined with SemiLiquid’s programmable credit protocol, creates a clear path to scaling institutional adoption – developed in a region that has become a launchpad for next-generation on-chain financial markets,” said Khalid Dannish, Head of MENA at Ava Labs.
“Private credit is going digital, and this pilot proves how it can be done legally and compliantly,” said Matthew Nyman, Digital Assets Lead at CMS. “CMS is proud to support the infrastructure bringing automated, custody-native credit to institutional markets.”
While tokenised assets are projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030, credit infrastructure has remained trapped in legacy workflows. More than 70% of institutional bilateral financing still involves bespoke, deal-by-deal paperwork & collateral transfers across fragmented accounts and systems, creating counterparty risk and friction that prevent tokenized assets from functioning as scalable, financeable collateral.
SemiLiquid’s pilot has shown that the technology & legal framework is mature and institutions are ready. The company is advancing to Phase II, launching in early 2026, which will expand integrations across additional custodians, collateral types, and jurisdictions. Future capabilities will include under-collateralized lending supported by verified solvency attestations & and a unified framework for enforceability across markets.
“Credit is the lifeblood of capital markets,” added Rico van der Veen, Co-Founder and CEO of SemiLiquid. “With PCP, programmable credit has arrived – and it’s ready for institutional deployment.”
For more information, users can visit https://pcp.co/
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About SemiLiquid:
SemiLiquid delivers the infrastructure powering the next evolution of institutional credit. Built on custody-native rails, its Programmable Credit Protocol (PCP) standardizes and automates bilateral lending – bringing the trust of traditional finance and the efficiency of programmable markets to a unified, compliant, and interoperable credit ecosystem.
About Zodia Custody
Zodia Custody is an institution-first digital assets platform with support from Standard Chartered, in association with Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD. Through the combination of its custody, treasury, and settlement solutions, Zodia Custody enables institutional investors around the globe to realise the full potential of the digital assets future – simply, safely, and without compromise. Zodia Custody is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, Central Bank of Ireland, Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, and holds a licence with the Hong Kong Companies Registry.
Zodia Custody implements the requirements of the 5AMLD and applies the same standards as Standard Chartered relating to AML, FCC, and KYC. It implements the requirements of the FATF Travel Rule. Zodia Custody Limited is registered in the UK with the FCA as a crypto asset business under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. Zodia Custody (Ireland) Limited is registered with the Central Bank of Ireland as a VASP under Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (as amended). Zodia Custody (Ireland) Limited was established in Ireland in August 2021. Zodia Custody (Ireland) Limited is registered with the CSSF in Luxembourg as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in accordance with article 7-1 (2) of the law dated 12 November 2004 on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, as amended. Zodia Custody (Hong Kong) Limited is registered with the Registry for Trust and Company Service Provider with License Number TC009245 under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), Cap. 615 in respect of its custodial activities in digital assets.
For further information on Zodia Custody, users can visit: https://zodia-custody.com/
Contact
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Vinita Kullai
YAP Global
vinita@yapglobal.com
