Gunnar Jaerv is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at First Digital Trust, a Hong Kong-regulated trust and financial institution specializing in digital assets. ^[1][2]

Career

In January 2012, Jaerv worked as a Consultant at HongKongLaw.com, assisting and consulting with project management and quality assurance on the company strategies. In September 2012, he founded Peak Digital and served as the CEO until 2015. ^[9]

Gunnar was a key player in driving growth in the digital assets business at Legacy Trust Company. It is a Hong Kong-licensed and publicly registered Trust Company that offers fiduciary and trustee services for assets (including digital assets). Gunnar worked at Legacy Trust for 7 years, starting as a consultant and rising the ranks to become the Head of Private-Label Trusts and eventually, the Head of Digital Assets. ^[3][9]

First Digital Trust

Joining the company in November 2019, Gunnar Jaerv's role as First Digital's Chief Operating Officer (COO) is to bring product development expertise and a thorough understanding of blockchain technology to the executive team. ^[2]

At First Digital Trust, Gunnar is responsible for building operational infrastructure, developing value capture models, maintaining partnerships, and identifying opportunities for sustainable revenue growth. ^[4]

On the main focus of First Digital, Gunner commented:

"We're trying to bridge the gap between the traditional and the digital world. There is a lot of cryptocustodians and digital asset custodians out there & First Digital Trust is definitely the only multi-asset custodian in Asia which means we can hold traditional assets like stocks bonds, fiat and we also hold cryptocurrencies, digital assets, etc. Our main focus is really on bridging and blending those two sides together"^[5]

FDUSD

First Digital Trust announced First Digital USD (FDUSD) on June 1, 2023, a stablecoin issued by FD121 Limited (under the brand name "First Digital Labs"). The stablecoin is backed on a 1:1 basis by one U.S. dollar or asset of equivalent fair value, held in accounts of regulated financial institutions in Asia. ^[8]

On July 26, 2023, First Digital Group announced that First Digital USD (FDUSD) would debut and list on the crypto exchange, Binance, and in September 2023, Binance announced its support for FDUSD following the discontinuation of its native stablecoin, BUSD. Binance encouraged BUSD holders to migrate to alternative assets, including FDUSD. ^[6][7]

FDUSD Reserve

The FDUSD coin is a cryptocurrency backed by the US dollar or an equivalent asset that represents the fair value of the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. The reserves for FDUSD are made up of low-risk assets, like short-term U.S. treasury bills, as well as cash and cash equivalents in U.S. dollars. These reserves are held by a custodian named First Digital Trust Ltd., a public trust company registered in Hong Kong. Additionally, the reserves are held at financial institutions in Switzerland, Australia, and Hong Kong. ^[10][11]

First Digital Labs releases a monthly reserve report showing the reserve breakdown. An independent auditor reviews and confirms the accuracy of these assets monthly. These reports offer transparency to FDUSD holders regarding the stablecoin's reserve status. ^[11]