Perth royalties trading hopeful wins spot in Reserve Bank of Australia’s digital asset trial

WA fintech ProspEx and its nascent royalties trading platform has been selected by the Reserve Bank of Australia to take part in a nationwide research effort investigating where digital assets could be used in the economy.

The platform would allow miners to sell off portions of projected royalty income to investors as ‘Digital Syndicated Royalty’ instruments, in a novel method of raising equity for explorers and developers.

Co-founder Kassia Kazmer said the firm — nominated alongside 13 others and the only entrant from WA — was excited to contribute to the RBA’s Project Acacia.

“There are outstanding Australian mining projects, particularly in critical and battery minerals, that struggle to secure funding through traditional channels. Our platform was built to address that gap,” she said.

Through this initiative, backed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the RBA wants to see where digitalised assets could be used and how they might be transacted.

It follows a push from the Federal Government to make Australia a “leader in the global digital asset ecosystem.”

“What we’re building aligns closely with the Government’s critical minerals strategy, and we believe it has the potential to unlock new capital pathways for an industry that’s fundamental to Australia’s economic future,” Ms Kazmer said.

ProspEx has been backed by Bellevue Gold managing director Darren Stralow and Diggers & Dealers co-founder Myles Ertzen, while former Deterra Royalties executive Adrian Stone has come on as chief operating officer.

The firm will be running a pilot capital raise using the Digital Syndicated Royalty for an unnamed mining developer later this week.

From there ProspEx plans to extend the tech to traditional brokerage firms in the hope they may conduct raises for their own clients.