Sector developments and company hires

Trade finance tokens unveiled
Tradeteq has selected XinFin’s XDC Network to launch TRADA tokens, believed to be the first-ever fully regulated trade finance-backed fungible security tokens. The move is expected to deliver liquidity to the trade finance sector by securitising a traditionally illiquid asset class on the XDC Network public blockchain and extending access to the sector to both retail and institutional investors.  

The collaboration represents the next evolution in the Tradeteq and XinFin partnership, which introduced trade finance-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for institutional investors in September 2021. Like the TRADA launch, the NFT offering used the XDC Network to transform trade finance assets, which Tradeteq repackaged and distributed to investors.  

The two firms have established a new entity called XDCTEQ to issue the TRADA tokens.

In other news…

North America
Vesttoo has recruited Minas Kalachian to serve as its new head of structuring as the firm seeks to scale its business and develop new financing solutions. Kalachian joins the Telaviv-based digital insurance risk transfer and investment firm from Allianz Risk Transfer, where he served as md. In his new role, Kalachian will lead a team of product specialists to design and execute financial structure strategies for the firm’s capital markets-based reinsurance solutions to serve its client base.

Gallagher Re has named Keshav Gupta vp, ILS structuring and origination, based in New York. He was previously ILS manager at AXIS Capital, which he joined in June 2018.