José Navalon is Lead Backend Developer, he joined the company in 2021.

Reflecting on the 4-year Journey

You’ve been with the company for four years, as a Lead Backend Developer. How has the company supported your growth during this time?

These 4 years at Tokeny have honestly flown by. From the beginning, I’ve had a lot of freedom to propose ideas, build things from scratch, and push improvements across the backend. That kind of trust and ownership really helped me grow, not just technically but also in how I approach teamwork and long-term architecture. It’s been a great place to keep learning while actually making an impact.

Tokeny’s Culture Involvement

Tokeny has grown significantly since you joined. How has the company culture evolved in your opinion?

When I joined, Tokeny felt very startup-like. The team was small, and everyone wore multiple hats. Even though we’ve grown a lot, that openness and transparency are still there. What’s changed is that the different departments are way more aligned now. Marketing, product, tech… we’re all more connected, and that helps a lot in daily work.

How would you describe your own personal growth within the company?

I’ve definitely grown a lot here. In the beginning, I focused mostly on solving backend tasks, but over time I started thinking more about the full picture: scalability, performance, developer experience, and how backend supports business needs. I’ve also learned how to mentor others, manage complexity better, and communicate across teams. I guess I’ve moved from just coding to building systems that last.

The last point I’d like to emphasize is that our team is committed to both achieving results and maintaining work-life balance. When urgent matters arise, we tackle them swiftly and efficiently, ensuring that nothing is left unresolved. At the same time, if no urgent issues arise, we ensure that our team members can fully enjoy their holidays, recognizing that recharging is essential for sustained performance. This balanced approach allows us to consistently deliver exceptional results while keeping the team motivated and at their best.

Company Values in Practice

You mentioned in your previous interview how much you enjoyed working with a team that is honest and transparent. Can you share an example of a project where you or your team used this honesty, and how it was received?

One example that sticks with me was during a backend refactor. Halfway through, we realized our initial plan wasn’t working well. Instead of pushing forward blindly, we stopped, had a proper conversation, and agreed to pivot. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but being honest saved us time and stress. And the team appreciated the transparency. It turned into a better solution in the end.

Reflections and Future Outlook

If you could give advice to your younger self, just starting out at Tokeny, what would it be?

I’d probably tell myself: “Don’t try to be the hero, collaborate more, and ask questions earlier.” Also: “Write better docs. Future-you will hate current-you if you don’t.” ?And finally: enjoy the ride, it’s a great team and there’s a lot to learn if you stay curious

As someone who has been with the company through significant milestones, where do you see Tokeny going in the next five years, and how do you envision your role evolving in that journey?

I think Tokeny is on track to become one of the key players in regulated digital assets, especially as more institutions look for serious infrastructure.

Potentially even opening new products or markets. I’d love to keep helping with that, especially on the architecture side, and also mentoring new developers as the team grows.

Finally, as we’ve gotten to know you over the years, you’ve often shared your love for cooking traditional Valencian dishes. Do any learnings or skills from these hobbies translate into your work at Tokeny

For me, it’s all about timing, balance, and attention to detail. That actually translates really well into how I work. In backend development, you also need the right ingredients, a solid plan, and a lot of care to build something that works smoothly. Both give me that same feeling when everything comes together just right.

Héctor Castro Mateos is QA Lead at Tokeny, he joined the company in 2022.

Reflecting on the 3-year Journey

You’ve been with the company for three years, as a QA engineer. How has the company supported your growth during this time?

Since I joined the company three years ago, I’ve always felt empowered to take ownership of the QA process and shape it in a way that truly fits our team and product. That level of trust and autonomy has been key to my growth. On top of that, everyone here is genuinely supportive and collaborative, which makes it much easier to take on challenges and keep improving.

Tokeny’s Culture Involvement

Tokeny has grown significantly since you joined. How has the company culture evolved in your opinion?

A lot has definitely changed over these three years. As the company has grown, the tech team has constantly refined its processes, always aiming to improve step by step so we can deliver the best possible product.

How would you describe your own personal growth within the company?

The QA team has grown since I joined, and with that, so have my responsibilities. I started as the only QA, and now we’re a team of four. That shift has pushed me to grow into a leadership role, learning how to manage a team, balance priorities, and make sure everyone feels both productive and motivated. It’s been a continuous learning experience, and I’m still growing every day.

Company Values in Practice

You mentioned in your previous interview how much you enjoyed working with a very committed team, that creates a sense of belonging to a community. Can you share an example of a project where you or your team used this commitment, and how it was received?

There was a release where many things got delayed and we had blockers just a few days before the deadline. Instead of panicking, the team stayed fully engaged and focused. We split the work, adapted priorities, and everyone went the extra mile to make sure things were properly tested. It really showed how committed the team is, not just to doing their own tasks, but to making sure the company delivers quality on time.

Reflections and Future Outlook

If you could give advice to your younger self, just starting out at Tokeny, what would it be?

I’d tell myself to be more confident from the beginning and to trust the team. You don’t need to have all the answers on your own, the best outcomes come when you collaborate and rely on others. We’re all here to help each other grow.

As someone who has been with the company through significant milestones, where do you see Tokeny going in the next five years, and how do you envision your role evolving in that journey?

The industry is evolving really fast, so it’s hard to predict exactly what things will look like in five years. Personally, I see myself continuing to grow professionally, leading a bigger QA team, and contributing to even more advanced testing strategies to keep ensuring the quality and reliability of our product.

Finally, as we’ve gotten to know you over the years, you’ve often shared your love for nutrition and a wide range of sports. Do any learnings or skills from these passions translate into your work at Tokeny?

Absolutely. I think anyone who approaches sports with passion and commitment develops a mindset built on patience, resilience, and the drive to keep going until the goal is achieved. That mentality naturally carries over into work, where consistency and perseverance are key.

On July 18, 2025, President Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, better known as the GENIUS Act (S. 919), into law. It marks a foundational shift in U.S. financial policy: for the first time in the U.S., stablecoins would be regulated under a dedicated and bipartisan federal framework, distinct from digital securities or unregulated digital assets.

What is the GENIUS Act?

The GENIUS Act defines payment stablecoins as digital assets:

• issued for the purpose of payment or settlement (including margin/collateral),
• redeemable at a fixed value (e.g., $1),
• and backed 1:1 by permitted reserve assets.
• does not offer a payment of yield or interest.

The bill outlines detailed requirements for issuers, including:

• Reserve Composition: Only highly liquid and safe instruments are permitted, which include:
  • coins and currency,
  • insured deposits held at banks and credit unions,
  • short-dated Treasury bills,
  • repurchase agreements (“repos”),
  • reverse repos backed by Treasury bills,
  • money market funds invested in certain of these assets,
  • central bank reserves,
  • and any other similar government-issued asset approved by regulators.
• Reserve usage restriction: Issuers would be restricted to using reserve assets for certain activities, including to redeem stablecoins and serve as collateral in repos and reverse repos.
• Redemption and disclosure: Issuers must maintain public redemption policies and report regularly on outstanding supply and reserve composition.
• Risk oversight: Issuers above $10B must submit audited financial statements, and all are subject to Bank Secrecy Act compliance and risk management tailored by federal/state regulators. Issuers under $10B may be supervised at the state level, provided the regime is “substantially similar” to the federal one.

Who can issue stablecoins?

Under the proposed text, stablecoins may be issued by:

• Subsidiaries of insured depository institutions (IDIs),
• OCC-regulated nonbank entities, and
• State-regulated entities under $10 billion in issuance.

Nonbank issuers can start under state law, but must graduate to federal oversight once they exceed the $10 billion threshold.

If a foreign-issued stablecoin is not licensed in the US, it can still be traded on US secondary markets, but only if:

• The foreign stablecoins have the technological capacity to freeze transactions, and
• They can comply with lawful orders from the U.S. Treasury Department (e.g., sanctions, asset freezes, law enforcement actions).

These definitions ensure any proposed issuer knows exactly which rules and supervisors apply.

Are permissioned stablecoins the answer to compliance requirements?

As mentioned in Myth vs. Fact: The GENIUS Act by the U.S. Senate Committee: “The GENIUS Act requires all stablecoin issuers, including foreign issuers, to have the technological capability to freeze and seize stablecoins and also comply with lawful orders. It also requires all permitted payment stablecoin issuers to comply with U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions requirements, including implementing AML and sanctions programs and annually certify compliance with the bill’s AML provisions. This is a higher reporting obligation than what banks are currently subject to.”

This means stablecoin smart contracts and infrastructure must support:

• Transfer freezes or reversals, under compliance or court orders.
• AML/sanctions screening and reporting capabilities.
• Annual certifications confirming they meet AML program standards.

While this may contrast with the open-access ethos of Web3, it reflects what institutional players need to safely and legally engage with stablecoins in regulated environments. For banks, custodians, and asset managers, having granular control over who can hold and transfer stablecoins is not optional, it’s essential for satisfying legal, operational, and reputational obligations.

ERC-3643, the market technical standard for permissioned tokens, with its identity-linked permissioning and built-in compliance logic, offers a proven path forward for stablecoin issuers who want to meet GENIUS Act requirements while preserving blockchain-based efficiency and interoperability.

Why This Is a Major Development

While stablecoins have been widely used by crypto users in the Web3 space for trading, institutional players have been reluctant to accept stablecoins as a payment method for tokenized securities, primarily due to regulatory uncertainty and unfavorable accounting treatment (e.g., SAB121).

As a result, true atomic settlement, where both securities and cash move instantly onchain, has faced slow adoption. In many cases, traditional bank transfers are still used, introducing friction, delays, and manual reconciliation steps.

Together, the GENIUS Act and SAB 122 lay the foundation for institutional adoption of stablecoins in the United States. The GENIUS Act establishes a federal framework for issuing compliant, fully backed stablecoins, while SAB 122 (which reverses SAB 121) enables banks to custody digital assets without classifying them as on-balance-sheet liabilities. With these regulatory clarifications, stablecoins can serve as the onchain cash leg for financial institutions, unlocking real-time settlement, composable services, and broader integration with capital markets and DeFi services.

As these frameworks take effect, we expect to see:

• More banks issuing stablecoins under federal or state-regulated regimes in the U.S..
• U.S. institutions accepting stablecoins for subscription, redemption, and settlement of tokenized securities.
• Accelerated institutional adoption of tokenized securities, driven not only by the ability to enable atomic settlement, but also by the opportunity to introduce innovative onchain features, such as Delivery-vs-Payment (DvP) transfers between qualified investors to improve liquidity, or integrating DeFi-based services

From Tokenized Cash to Tokenized Securities

As trusted digital dollars become more widely available, the focus will naturally shift toward the transparency and composition of the reserves backing them. To enable real-time proof of reserves and redemption, these reserve assets themselves should be tokenized and made verifiable onchain.

At the same time, since payment stablecoins are prohibited from offering yield under the GENIUS Act, stablecoin holders will increasingly look for onchain and yield-generating alternatives.

This makes the tokenization of money market funds (MMFs) and other short-duration instruments especially timely, serving a dual purpose:

• as onchain compliant reserve assets for stablecoin issuers, and
• as onchain savings products for stablecoin holders seeking yield in a secure and regulated way.

A recent example we supported is the tokenized MMF by Fasanara Capital, a London-based asset manager overseeing $5 billion in assets. The project was delivered in collaboration with Apex Group, Chainlink, Fireblocks, and Polygon. Seeking to comply with regulations while ensuring open interoperability, it leverages the ERC-3643 market standard via our T-REX Platform.

The fund was launched with onchain compliance controls, integrated cap table management, real-time redemption capabilities, and real-time NAV feeds, demonstrating how tokenized funds can operate efficiently, transparently, and securely within a regulated framework.

There are a few key benefits of tokenized funds:

• Instant and 24/7 subscription and redemption
  
• Real-time collateral deployment (e.g., in repo markets)
• Reduced operational risk through smart contract automation
• Seamless integration with DeFi protocols and traditional financial infrastructure

A Call to Action

A new chapter in finance is unfolding, and it’s happening now. With the GENIUS Act in place and onchain infrastructure finally ready for institutions, the opportunity to lead has never been clearer.

Yet, in a market filled with noise and emerging players, success will come to those who choose partners with a proven track record. The right guidance can help you avoid costly missteps, accelerate your learning curve, and ensure you don’t get trapped in new silos onchain.

At Tokeny, now part of Apex Group, we bring more than seven years of experience building enterprise-grade tokenization solutions. We work closely with our clients to provide the knowledge, technology, and operational support they need to move with speed and confidence.

If you’re exploring how to tokenize your assets or operations, our team is here to guide you through the process, from strategy to execution, and help you unlock the full potential of onchain finance.